Dragon's Garrison
by Underdog Lover
Summary: Voldemort's return spells doom for the Wizarding World. In an attempt to make sure Harry is not held back by anything that could be detrimental to him Ron is forced to stay away from Harry and coldly tossed aside. On the other side not all Slytherin's are on the side of the Dark Lord. Four of them don't want to serve and just want to be free. Will Ron be their salvation?
1. Chapter 1

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter One)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

"So he's really back" Remus Lupin commented gravely.

It was the night of June 26th, 1995, only a day after Voldemort had returned to power and the old group that fought against him in the First Wizarding War, the Order of the Phoenix, was gathered to begin coming up with a plan to counterattack.

Most of the old order had perished or betrayed them so they were low on numbers. Thankfully Alastor Moody, Ex-Auror, had already managed to bring a few Aurors to their side, namely his old protégé, and Sirius' little cousin, Nymphadora Tonks and the high ranking Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt.

The only one not there was the leader Albus Dumbledore as he was at a meeting with the ministry to discuss, in his own words, "The Parting of the Ways" with Fudge. "Unfortunately yes" Alastor said rubbing his now regrown hair. "With all the trouble they went to locking me up and arranging everything; if they had failed then You-Know-Who wouldn't have been so hard to get rid of."

"The question is… what to do now" Kingsley said.

Remus stood up "I do have a proposal; as you know with Voldemort back Harry is going to be more vulnerable than ever. I know many of you wish to keep him in the dark about some things, but he will need to know some things. After all he is entitled to know as this is his life that's on the lines."

"It's all of our lives on the line" Moody grunted "But I do agree with you Remus; what do you propose?"

"Well…" Remus began uncomfortably shooting an inconspicuous look at Molly and her two son's Bill and Charlie. He knew that they weren't going to like what he was going to say; hell Remus didn't like what he was about to say, but to win a war sacrifices must be made. "I think a crucial part in deciding the tide of the war is who Harry associates himself with."

"Remus, where are you going with this" Sirius asked feeling a bad feeling in his gut.

Remus sighed tiredly "Molly, please don't be offended by this, but I think Harry should not associate with Ron anymore." He held up his hand before anyone could speak "Let me finish first; I noticed when I was teaching at Hogwarts that Harry's studying habits became more like Ron's as the year went by. In this kind of situation slacking cannot be tolerated. When Ron's around Harry they become lazy and all around do not care about anything unless it's incredibly serious. Don't get me wrong I'm not judging Ron on academics alone, but also his attitude. For a fifteen year old boy he is incredibly immature and insensitive especially how he acted around Harry during the Champion Selection. He knew Harry for four years and still abandoned him when he most needed him. I know they made up, but it hurt Harry deeply and I bet it still does. In conclusion I must say Ron is too immature to stand by Harry's side in this war and they must be separated from each other. Does anyone have a comment?"

Sirius immediately stood up and looked less than happy "Remus, you're my best friend and like a brother to me, but that was the biggest load of Hippogriff dung that I have ever heard that has come out of your mouth. Ron's a great kid, sure he's made some mistakes, but I want all of you to look me in the eye and tell me you haven't done the same. All friends have a falling out at some point in their lives; James and I did and I'm sure you and James did as well Remus. Honestly Ron's a lot like me more than you know and Harry's going to need him more than he knows. I'm telling you Remus, if you do this it's going to be a huge mistake."

Bill cleared his throat before anyone else could speak "I hate admitting this, but… I believe Remus has a point. Ron is incredibly immature for his age, even more than Fred and George in some aspects. His marks are quite disappointing; I love my baby brother a lot, but his behavior towards both Harry and Hermione would be highly detrimental in the future."

"Sorry, guys but I kinda agree with Bill" Charlie said although he did look uncomfortable. "It's a war for our lives and our way of life. We can't have any weaknesses."

Molly was quiet and Sirius looked furious; he was about to stand up when Molly spoke "I agree… with Remus" she said to Sirius' absolute shock. "Ronald does not have the maturity to deal with this; when the time comes I will make sure he has a place to stay so he does not interfere in anything."

"Unbelievable" Sirius said slowly in disbelief. "You're betraying… your own flesh and blood. This… THIS IS BULLSHIT."

"Sirius be quiet" Moody barked. "Don't let your emotions come into this. I've heard the rumors of the Weasley Boy and I agree with Remus… he's a disappointment."

"Let us take a vote on it" Remus said. "All those to agree to having Harry sever all ties with Ron." Remus put his hand up as did Bill, Charlie, Molly, Moody and Kingsley. "And all those against" only Sirius and Tonks put their hands up looking upset. "At a vote of 6 to 2 we have a motion."

"I still say this absolute bull Remus" Sirius said with a glare now. "Are you going to tell me Hermione's now a bad influence as well?"

"On the contrary Hermione is a very positive influence" Remus said. "She's incredibly smart and diligent with her schoolwork. McGonagall has told me that Hermione is considered the smartest witch of her age. Someone like that on Harry's side will prove highly beneficial."

Sirius stood up "I can't even look at you people anymore" he said before barging of to the door, wrenching it open and leaving slamming the door loudly when he left.

"Leave him" Remus said tiredly as some people got up to go after him. "Let him cool down; it's bad to confront him like this when he's upset. Anyway, someone will have to tell Harry about this pretty soon; I think it's best if I do it." No one argued "Then I guess this meeting is over."

There were a few murmurs as everyone turned and left.

The next day we find Harry, Ron and Hermione in the Hospital Wing with Ron cracking jokes making Harry laugh and forget about everything that happened at the graveyard. That's what Harry loved most about Ron; it was that he could make him laugh with hardly any effort and make him feel better if he was depressed. Yes he loved both of his friends, but it was Ron that Harry could talk to about anything.

The doors opened behind them "Sorry if I'm interrupting" Remus said with a smile.

"Not at all Professor Lupin" Hermione said.

'Says you' Ron thought sarcastically 'I was just getting to the punchline.'

"Now Hermione, I'm not your teacher anymore; you can just call me Remus" he said with a smile. "I need to talk to Harry and Hermione real quick… privately."

"Of course" Hermione said and immediately gave Ron a shooing motion telling him to leave. Grumbling at being ordered like a dog Ron turned and left leaving the three of them "What did you need sir?"

"How's Snuffles doing" Harry asked quickly.

"He's just fine Harry" Remus lied calmly. "Now I have something very serious to ask you two, but first I want you two to read this." He handed them a piece of paper with stuff written on them. Harry and Hermione read them and after each line Hermione's eyebrows rose and rose until they disappeared into her hairline while Harry's eyes widened more and more in fury.

"Are you out of your mind" was the first thing Harry said none too happily. "I'm not going to abandon my best friend."

"Harry if you're worried about what the Weasley's will say then rest assured as Molly, Bill and Charlie all agreed and are talking to Fred, George and Ginny about everything."

"I DON'T CARE IF THEY APPROVE OR NOT; IM NOT DOING IT BECAUSE RON'S MY BEST FRIEND" Harry shouted furiously. "Hermione back me up" he said to the bushy haired girl, but she was strangely quiet "Hermione" he said again.

"Remus… does make a point Harry" Hermione said quietly. Harry couldn't believe his ears "I don't like it either Harry, but… this is going to be a war and it's not going to be pretty. Ron's not cut out for any of this. He's not mature enough."

"None of us like doing this Harry, but it's for the best" Remus said. "Ron's holding you back from reaching your full potential."

Harry looked at them both in disgust before getting out of his bed "Harry" Hermione called, but Harry ignored her and marched out of the Hospital Wing before slamming the door behind him. Harry was absolutely furious at them; abandon Ron? Sure they had their arguments, but what friends didn't? Nothing was worth abandoning him and just kicking him out of his life and to make it worse his family agreed to it.

"Ron" Harry called spotting his red haired friend leaning against the wall.

"Harry" Ron greeted as Harry walked up "So what did Professor Lupin want with you and Hermione." Harry didn't waste a second and explained to Ron everything that was said in the room. By the end of the explanation Ron was had a combination of shock, hurt, betrayal and anger on his face "Are you serious?"

"I wish I wasn't" Harry said sadly.

"My own family" Ron muttered putting a hand to his face as his eyes began watering. "My worst nightmare… it's come true." And just like that Harry could only watch as his best friend broke down crying and there was nothing Harry could do to make him feel better. After a moment Ron spoke "S-So… what are you going to do?"

"They're out of their fucking minds if they think I'm going to betray you" Harry said fiercely.

"But Harry, the Wizarding world needs you; its needs a Champion and that's who you are" Ron said reasonably even though he wanted to just scream. "Don't worry about me; I'll make it on my own."

Harry saw how Ron was truly broken up right now and Harry did what his gut told him to do. He hugged Ron tightly; Ron reciprocated the action hugging his best friend tightly "Even though we might be so many miles apart… I just want you to know… I will NEVER forget you." Ron tightened his grip on Harry.

(A/N: That's the closest to slash you're gonna get fan girls. :P)

When they pulled away both of them said their goodbyes with tears in both of their eyes. Harry wiped his eyes as he turned and walked back to the Hospital Wing; first he had to watch Cedric die, then Voldemort rises, he gets brutally tortured and now he's losing his best friend.

Harry officially hated everyone except for Ron right now. He walked back into the Hospital Wing seeing Remus and Hermione still there waiting for him. "Harry" Hermione started, but Harry held his hand up silencing her.

"I just want you both to know" Harry began his voice incredibly calm, but his eyes were colder than glaciers. "I'll go with this little… plan of yours, but the moment it's over, whether we win or not… it's over. I want nothing to do with any of you. As far as I'm concerned Ron is my only friend right now." And with that Harry turned and left leaving a sad Remus and a teary eyed Hermione.

Meanwhile the moment Harry had left Ron had stood there for a moment wiping his eyes trying to control himself. He couldn't believe his family had chosen Harry over him; it was one of his worst fears and he didn't think it would actually happen, but it did. He didn't blame Harry, he couldn't. Harry didn't ask for it.

So with his spirit lower than the deepest pit of Hell Ron turned and just walked away unaware that someone had heard the entire conversation between Harry and Ron.

The next day the rest of the Weasley Family had been informed of the decision; unfortunately Fred and George agreed with their mother and older brothers saying Ron was too immature to do anything. Ginny did not take it well; she loved her older brother, he was actually her favorite brother, even more then Bill. Ginny always thought Bill was the coolest, but Ron was her favorite brother and to hear that her own family turned on him tore her heart up.

Also the next day no one could find Ron at all; it was like he just vanished into thin air. In reality Ron was still on Hogwarts grounds; he was just sitting at the very top most tower in the castle just staring out into the distance at the Black Lake.

He was so depressed and he knew he'd have to face the family that betrayed him in five days' time because that was when the year ended. What hurt almost as much as his family betraying him was Hermione betraying him; he had honestly fallen hard for the bushy haired girl. And her betrayal tore what remained of his heart to shreds and it hurt… badly.

"So this is where you've been hiding" a voice said making Ron jump slightly. Ron turned and his breath got caught in his throat because he was staring at the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life, even more beautiful than Hermione. She had shoulder length straight blond hair with a portion clipped to the side with a hairclip. She had fair colored skin, full pink lips, an elegant, cute nose and bright emerald eyes that were even brighter than Harry's. It was the Ron noticed a Slytherin badge pinned to her robes.

Going on guard, but miraculously keeping his voice calm, he asked "Can I help you?"

"Depends" the beautiful girl responded stepping forward. "First of all I want to ask; is what Dumbledore said true? Has You-Know-Who returned?"

"Is Malfoy a git" Ron responded sarcastically.

The girl giggled quietly "That answers that; next question. What was that whole business about between you and Potter in the halls yesterday?"

Ron's blood went cold and he went on guard "No offense or anything; I know Death Eaters are from all four houses, but I do not feel comfortable divulging that information."

The girl shrugged "Fair enough; I can't really blame you for being suspicious. After all Slytherins have never done anything to make you not think we're all Death Eaters."

Ron felt uncomfortable "Sorry" he whispered.

"Forget about it" she said. "Last question; with you and Potter unable to see each other what are you gonna do?"

Ron was quiet "… I don't know" he finally whispered. "Everything's falling apart, everyone's turned on me… I don't know what to do." Then he realized something "Wait, why am I even divulging this stuff; I don't even know you."

"You just now noticed that" she said with another cute giggle that made Ron's face go red. "Don't feel bad though; when bad things happen people usually like to talk to those they don't know."

"What are you a psychiatrist" Ron muttered.

"No I'm a witch" she responded.

"What's the difference" Ron retorted and this time they both laughed a bit. After a moment Ron sighed "Okay, now I want to ask you a question; why are you asking me all this when in the past you and I have never even spoke to one another?"

The girl spoke without hesitation "This'll be hard for you to believe, but not all Slytherin's are on You-Know-Who's side. Some have remained neutral preferring not to get involved, some were forced and some even went into hiding. I'm one of those and I've got friends who are in the same boat; we don't want to be forced to join You-Know-Who and we know this time he'll try to get everyone. This time we can't stay on the sidelines."

"So… you want to fight basically" Ron theorized.

"Not fight, survive" she corrected.

"There's not much of a difference if what you just told me is true" Ron said. "I mean if you guys don't want to be forced into serving and you can't stay neutral or hide then fighting is the only way to survive."

She stared at him as though scrutinizing him; her green eyes stared into his blue eyes before she smiled again "I knew we made the right choice." Now Ron was staring at her confused "Listen Weasley; if you want to be useful and help Potter at all in this war then come to the Black Lake tonight alone. We'll be waiting."

"Wait, who's 'we'" Ron called, but his question went unanswered as she continued to walk away. "Can I at least get your name" Ron asked as she got to the stairs.

She turned to him with another smile "It's Greengrass; I'm Daphne Greengrass." With that she walked downstairs leaving Ron alone atop the Astronomy Tower. Ron stared at the spot she was standing at not a moment ago in wonderment and what the hell did she mean when she said that they had made the right choice.

Ron rubbed his head feeling a headache coming on; with a sigh he went downstairs, back to the common room and just collapsed into bed not even bothering to shut the curtains. He fell asleep for a few hours, but woke up at around seven o'clock. The sun was just setting making it perfect for him to sneak out.

Putting his shoes on Ron got up and went downstairs not even passing anyone; peering around the corner when he got to the bottom he saw all the students in the Great Hall and he noticed Harry was sitting completely isolated from everyone else giving him a wide space.

Deciding to dwell on it later Ron snuck to the front door and quietly opened the door and left. The castle was Unplottable so it couldn't be found by normal means, there was a barrier so no one could sneak in so the castle always remained opened and unlocked. The only time it was locked was on the full moon so wandering werewolves couldn't get in. Still sneaking out of the castle past curfew, which was seven o-clock, was punishable with a months' worth of detention.

Anyway once Ron got out of the castle he ran down the causeway of the courtyard and soon he got down to the shore of the Black Lake. When he got there he saw four people sitting around on rocks or a log. Two of them were girls and the other two were boys.

They heard Ron approach and each of them looked up. Ron was on the receiving end of their stares "Uh… hi" he said nervously.

He was given cold stares by the two boys "Is this really our best chance Daphne" the darker skinned boy asked. His voice was incredibly cold and his eyes calculating.

"It was either him or Granger, which would you have preferred" Daphne asked in an equally cold tone. The dark skinned boy said nothing "Besides he'll be more useful than Granger ever could be."

"I think we'll be the judge of that" the other girl said standing up. She was just as beautiful as Daphne was with fair skin, amber eyes and long curly dark auburn colored hair. "Well shall we all introduce ourselves; I'm Tracey Davis."

"Blaise Zabini" the dark skinned boy from earlier spoke his voice still cold.

"Theodore Nott" the last boy said. He was like Ron in appearance since he was long and lanky, being almost taller than Ron although he was much skinnier making him look like he had a weedy appearance. He had dark eyes like Zabini although by looking close they were dark violet in color. Like the two girls he had pale skin and had black tall slick black hair that had a somewhat messy look to it.

"Ron Weasley… nice to meet you all" Ron said still feeling uncomfortable about this situation. "So… what's this all about?"

"You didn't explain it to him" Blaise asked Daphne with a sharp look.

"Why do you think I asked him to show up here" Daphne retorted. "Tracey, if you would."

"Yeah" Tracey said before releasing a sigh. "Alright so Daphne told you that we were ones who didn't want to serve You-Know-Who right?" Ron nodded "Well we all believed since we were in the same boat that we'd band together and help each other. However we had one problem; none of us knew ways to avoid You-Know-Who so we needed help from someone who knew about him."

Ron was starting to get it "So why did you come to me?"

"Because you were the better choice over Potter or Granger" Theodore told him. "Like we could ask Potter for anything when it comes to our problems now that the Dark Lord is back. Granger isn't a better choice because while she may be smart she has absolutely no instincts."

"That leaves you" Tracey said. "You've known Potter longer than anyone at this school which gives you a significant advantage when it comes to facing the Dark Arts. What with the Philosophers Stone incident in First Year, the Basilisk in Second Year and the Dementors and Sirius Black last year. You have lots of experience in facing the Dark Arts and that's what we need to survive… a leader."

Ron was now wide eyed as he stared at them "So what you're asking is that you want me to help you four learn how to combat against You-Know-Who's dark forces to help you avoid being drafted."

"Yes, did we not just get through explaining that" Blaise said sarcastically.

"Ignore him" Daphne said dismissively. "Look Ron, we know you had a falling out with everyone; I heard the entire story between both you and Potter in the halls. Not only is this your chance to help your one true friend, but it's also a chance to prove everyone who betrayed you that they were wrong."

Ron was silent now, but even though he looked quiet he now had a dangerous aura around him; one that actually made the four Slytherin's cautious. After a moment Ron looked up and his blue eyes were cold, but he also got a confident smirk on his face "When do we get started" he asked.

Two grins and two smirks was what he got in response.

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flames will be ignored.


	2. Chapter 2

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter Two)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

The next day after walking up Ron was feeling in a much better mood than he did yesterday; he was down having a smaller breakfast than what he usually would because last night he promised the other four that during the last few days at school they would come up with a plan and then meet over the summer.

After finishing his breakfast Ron immediately began to leave the Great Hall, but on the way out he nearly bumped into Harry, who was followed by Hermione and his siblings "Weasley" Harry said coldly.

Ron caught onto Harry's act "Potter" he said in an equally cold tone. With that they roughly bumped shoulders as they passed each other, but once they passed each other they both got smirks on their faces. They couldn't be friends in public, but in their memories and brief encounters they could easily communicate through eye contact.

Either way now Ron had something else to focus on so he went down to the same meeting spot from before and waited for the others to show up. He didn't have long to wait as the four of them soon showed up "So Weasley, what's on the agenda for today" Blaise asked.

"You sure don't beat around the bush do you" Ron asked sarcastically.

"It's my life on the line; what do you think" Blaise retorted.

"Fair enough" Ron shrugged. "Well before I do anything I want to know what is it you planned to practice on if it was just you four."

Theodore answered "Advanced spells and charms."

Ron nodded "Alright not bad, hmm… alright first I want to assess you. Blaise, you and me, one on one."

Blaise raised an eyebrow before shrugging "Whatever." He pulled is wand out as did Ron.

"First one to disarm the opponent wins" Ron said and Blaise nodded "One… two… three."

"Stupefy" Blaise bellowed launching a spell at Ron.

"Protego" the red head shouted in return blocking the stunning spell. Blaise continued to launch spell after spell at Ron while the red head blocked them all quite calmly and soon Blaise was getting frustrated. Blaise began launching every spell he could at a fast pace, but still nothing could get past Ron's Protego.

Finally Ron saw an opening as Blaise was exhausted "Expeliarmus" he shouted and Blaise's wand flew from his grasp into Ron's hand before Blaise could even blink. "Well you're not shy in attacking, but you attack too quickly and get frustrated too quickly leaving you wide open to a counter attack. It's good to finish your opponent quickly, but if you can't finish them within three spell attacks then it's best to play on the side of caution and look for a weakness."

Blaise didn't show it, but he was impressed with Ron's deduction skills. Ron handed Blaise his wand back and the dark skinned boy stood to the side.

"Alright… Tracey you next" he said. The auburn haired girl stepped up pulling her wand out and they faced each other "One… Two… Three" he said ready to cast a shield charm, but Tracey didn't attack so Ron went first "Impedimenta" he shouted.

"Protego" Tracey said and the spell was blocked effortlessly.

"Reducto" Ron shouted.

"Protego" Tracey shouted again and the redactor curse was blocked.

Ron frowned 'She's copying me from my battle with Blaise… not going to work' he thought. "Reducto" he shouted again.

"Protego" Tracey shouted again, but the shield spell was only protecting her front and Ron shot the spell to the side. The spell missed her shield completely and instead it hit the ground next to her and the backlash sent her flying to the side where she impacted hard with the ground.

"Expeliarmus" Ron said simply and her wand flew from her hand into his. "It's okay to rely on defense until you see an opening, but if you do keep an eye on where your opponent aims a spell. If it hits a spot next to you where your shield won't protect you then once you get blasted back you're dead."

And with that he held a hand out for her; Tracey accepted the hand and Ron pulled her to her feet before giving her wand back to her. With that Tracey stepped back to the side.

"Alright… Theodore show me what you got" Ron said. Theodore took his wand out and they stared at each other "One… two… three" he said "Stupefy" he shouted.

Theodore reacted quickly "Protego" the stunning spell bounced off "Impedimenta." Ron dove to the side avoiding the curse "Confringo."

"Protego Maxima" Ron shouted and the spell bounced off impacting to the side where it exploded. Then the two of them shouted "Stupefy" and their spells collided in midair where they held it in a standoff for a moment before breaking off and stared at each other.

Then Ron waved his arm "Protego" Theodore shouted expecting a spell, but wasn't prepared for a rock to smash him in the back. He gave a yelp of pain and dropped his shield and that was all Ron needed.

"Expeliarmus" he said and like the other two Theodore's wand flew into Ron's hand. "Good, but remember an enemy can use more than just spells. He's got the entire terrain to use as a weapon and so will you." Theodore nodded and Ron helped him up as his back was throbbing now. Giving him his wand back Ron watched Theodore step off to the side "Alright Daphne, you're last."

Daphne pulled her wand out and the two of them faced each other. "I can't believe Weasley beat all of us so easily" Blaise grumbled.

"He's good Blaise; he's real good" Tracey said highly impressed with Ron's dueling skill.

"Not to mention he's pragmatic" Theodore said. "Haven't you noticed… he's treated this entire simulation as though it was a chess match."

"Well in that case he's going to have to be careful; Daphne's the best duelist of the four of us" Tracey said confident in her best friend's ability.

Ron and Daphne stared at each other "One… two… three" Ron counted.

"Deprimo" Daphne shouted and Ron barely jumped to the side in time as the ground he was standing on imploded "Not so fast, Expulso" she shouted and a purple ball shot right for Ron.

"Protego Maxima" Ron shouted and the spell was reflected causing an explosion off to the side. "Duro" he shouted launching his spell.

"Protego" Daphne countered before the two of them shouted "Reducto." The two Reductor curses hit head on causing another explosion. "Partis Temporus" Daphne called parting the smoke. When it parted Ron had disappeared and Daphne quickly began looking around. A rock lifted from the ground and came flying towards her.

Turning she waved her wand and the rock was blasted away, but then another rock came at her from a different direction. She blasted the second one, but soon the rocks were coming by the pairs and then the dozens. Daphne couldn't block them all and was getting hit by them.

Finally she got frustrated "Bombarda Maxima" she called blasting the largest rock and the shockwave blew apart the rest of the rocks.

When she was done she looked around frantically "Expeliarmus" Ron's voice said behind her and her wand flew backwards out of her hand and she felt a wand tip press into her back. She turned her head to see Ron standing there calmly with his wand in her hand.

'He… actually beat Daphne' Tracey thought shocked.

"That was very good, but in the ensuing chaos after our spells clashed and no one could see you should have taken advantage and hid so you could attack your opponent from all angles so they couldn't ascertain your location" Ron said.

Daphne nodded humbly; she had been bested and she knew it. She was also amazed; Ron didn't know many spells, but he was a master at what he knew already. He didn't need a lot of spells to be dangerous; he could have killed all four of them if he so wished because he knew how to calculate a battle down to every move.

'He could see through each move and even while we were making it no doubt he was already planning three moves ahead' Daphne thought shocked at how easy they were defeated. 'Those fools made a huge mistake; they've just given up a brilliant tactical mind.'

"Well from what I've seen you all know how to fight with your spells, but you don't know how to fight a live battle" Ron said. "In battle everything is your weapon, from the most lethal spell down to the tiniest pebble." Taking a breath he said "So I guess we should work on battle tactics until we have to leave. After that we'll need to find a proper place to meet."

"Good" Theodore said. "I got to say I had my doubts about you Weasley, but you're alright."

"Thanks" Ron said rubbing his head with a small grin. "Well while we're all here I want to try something else. Tell me what are your wands made from?"

"What does that matter" Tracey asked.

"It matters because that way we can find out which branch of magic we would be best working on" Blaise said like it was obvious.

"He's right, certain cores and wood work better with certain spells" Daphne said "My wand is Silver Lime Wood with the core of a phoenix feather."

"Mine is Ebony with the core of the dragon heartstring" Theodore said.

"Mine's Elm with a phoenix feather core" Tracey said.

"Yew, dragon heartstring core" Blaise said shortly. "What's yours?"

"Willow… unicorn tail hair" Ron said looking at his wand.

"That won't do" Blaise said "Get a new one."

"Excuse me" Ron said raising both eyebrows.

"What he means is that the Unicorn Tail Hair will become a little detrimental for future challenges" Daphne said. "No offense Ron, but the unicorn tail hair is not keen on learning the magic that will be necessary to survive."

"In other words… you need a new wand" Tracey summarized. Ron looked at his wand; the wand he had now had served him much better than his first wand "Daphne, do you mind."

"Sure" Daphne shrugged "Follow me."

"Where are we going" Ron asked.

"Ollivander's to get your new wand" Daphne said like it was obvious.

"We're going to Diagon Alley" Ron said surprised.

Daphne laughed a bit "There's an Ollivander's shop in Hogsmeade; we can go there." Ron nodded and with that he followed after Daphne while the others decided to go back to the castle. "So Ron where'd you learn to duel like that" Daphne asked starting conversation.

"I just learned standard spells for our grade year and then I guess I just use standard battle tactics" Ron said.

"Really" Daphne said interested "And where did you learn these battle tactics."

"Playing Chess" Ron answered. Seeing her look he explained more "Chess is probably the only thing I could ever beat anyone at; my dad got me a chess set when I was three and I played him. I beat him, me a three year old beat my own father who was over five times my age. To this very day I've never lost a chess match to anyone."

"That's interesting" Daphne said; now she understood why her father always said only the truly intelligent could play chess. "Maybe I'll introduce you to my father sometime; he loves chess and he hasn't had a good match in a long time."

"If it happens I look forward to it" Ron said with a smile. She smiled back softly at him and it wasn't long until they got to Hogsmeade. Daphne led Ron to Ollivander's shop.

"Good day" said the man behind the counter. "How can I help you?"

"My friend's looking to exchange his old wand for a new one" Daphne said. Ron stepped up and handed the man his wand.

"Hmm" the man hummed "Willow, fourteen inches with the core of a unicorn tail." He gave the wand a wave and beautiful petals appeared "This wand is in fine working condition; why would you wish to exchange it?"

"I guess I just wanted a change; a fresh start you might say" Ron replied smoothly.

"Very well" the man said before going into the back to fetch some wands. He came back out with a pile "Try this one; Cypress, unicorn hair, ten inches, brave." Seeing Daphne's look Ron wanted to reject the wand, but he had to make everything look convincing so he took the wand and gave it a wave. Nothing happened.

"Apparently not" the man said taking the wand back putting it away. He pulled out another one "How about this one; Larch, phoenix feather, 11 and a half inches, courageous." Ron took the wand and gave it another wave, but once more nothing happened. He gave the wand back "Definitely not, no matter."

With that the man pulled out another wand although it was unlike any wand Ron had seen; it was pure white in color with beautiful greyish spots along the bottom half of the wand. "Try this one; Aspen, 14 and three-quarter inches, dragon heartstring, unbeatable."

Ron grabbed the wand and felt a great power flow through his fingertips. So much so that a mysterious wind picked up blowing his hair about as he first grabbed the wand; giving the wand a wave Ron nearly dropped it in shock when a large blast of fire shot out of the wand.

"Well done" the man said with a smile. "It looks like you've found the right wand for yourself." Ron looked at the wand in his hand for a moment before tucking it into his sleeve "Since your previous wand is in fine working condition and Willow is exceedingly sought after the wand will be payment."

The two accepted the offer and with that they left the wand shop. "Alright then; we'll resume this evening" Daphne told him. "We'll work on some strategies and your battle tactics. We also need to come up with a place to go during the summer time."

"Alright" Ron nodded and with that the two of them went their separate ways. Daphne headed back to her common room and Ron did something he had never done before willingly.

He went to the Library.

While in the library Ron looked up wandlore and charms. Ron was interested in looking up the specific powers that the wood of each of everyone's wands could do. He already knew about the cores; the phoenix feather was well versed in all kinds of magic and the dragon heartstring learned magic incredibly quickly, but sometimes the wood of the wand made all the difference.

He first found his wood; the Aspen wood is excellent for charm work and is said to represent a very accomplished duelist. It was noted by the Ollivander family that Aspen wands was considered excellent for those who would bring about change; revolutionaries to say the least.

'Ironic' Ron thought considering his current position. He was a revolutionary of some sort.

The next one he found was Theodore's wand wood; Ebony. The reports say that Ebony wood is comfortable with all kinds of magic especially transfiguration. It is also reported that Ebony Wood is best suitable to those who always stick with their own beliefs and are not swayed easily.

The next one he found was Tracey's wand wood known as Elm. The wandlore behind this wood was surrounded by pureblood credentials saying that purebloods used this wand best, but in truth the elm wood preferred those with presence, dexterity and dignity. The wand was elegant for charm work and all other spells and was reported to produce the least amount of errors and mistakes.

The next one he found was Daphne's wand wood; the Silver Lime. Now this one surprised Ron as he read that the Silver Lime was in very high demand back in the nineteenth century because it was incredibly beautiful. The legend surrounding the Silver Lime said it was good for those who were Seers and those who had skills in Occlumency and Legilimency.

The final one he found was Blaise's wand wood, the Yew wood. The Yew was considered one of the rare wands woods and is considered quite darker than most wand woods and reported that it is great for all manner of curses and spells. Interestingly the book noted that those who have Yew wands might be fierce protectors of others.

Now finding out what he knew Ron put the wandlore book away and turned to a book on curses and exotic charms. He especially took notice of the Fidelius Charm as it was capable of keeping anything secret as it locks the secret inside the soul of the one known as the 'Secret Keeper' and only that person could divulge the secret.

'With this kind of charm, we could hide anywhere and not be detected at all' Ron thought. He checked out the book and found a few more books to check out.

THREE DAYS LATER

After a full three days it was officially time to go home; Ron and the group were meeting one last time to discuss where they can meet during the summer. "So does anyone have any ideas" Ron asked.

"Not my house" Theodore said. "My father is a Death Eater and the moment he saw you Ron he'd probably kill you."

"Yeah… I'd like to live a little longer" he muttered getting a chuckle from Theodore.

"My parents like having others over… but they're incredibly nosy so meeting at my place wouldn't be good" Tracey admitted. She looked at Ron for an answer.

"Don't look at me; my so called family is dumping me at my Great-Aunt Muriel's House and she's the biggest gossip in the entire world" Ron said.

"My mother's not home much, but she's more slippery than a snake" Blaise said. "We can get by with maybe one or two meetings, but she'd catch on pretty quickly."

So they all turned to Daphne and she thought on it for a bit "Look, it's a stretch, but… maybe I can tell my father."

"What" all four of them said simultaneously.

"Daphne, that has got to be one of the stupidest things I ever heard from you" Tracey said. "You sure you're not a Hufflepuff in disguise."

Daphne glared at her "Look, during the last war my father was the main family who managed to stay neutral in the war because his special made cloaks were used by both sides. No side could afford to recruit us for fear of repercussions."

"Special cloaks" Ron whispered to Blaise.

"Her father's the most renowned Clothing Mogul in all of the United Kingdom, Scotland, Wales and Ireland" Blaise whispered. "He's easily considered the wealthiest man in all of Britain." Now that surprised Ron; someone was actually richer than Malfoy.

Daphne continued "My father knows more than anyone the pressure of forceful recruitment; my mother told me he almost did consent to join at the end of the First War after managing to stay neutral for 13 years. Now that You-Know-Who is back it's only a matter of time; if he can see that we can fight back… it'll be a stretch, but he may support us."

Everyone was silent now especially Ron as he weighed the options. He could not come up with anything better "She's right" he said getting the others attention.

"You can't be serious" Blaise said with sheer disbelief.

"Look, it's not perfect, but it's the best idea we've got and if any of you have a better one I'd love to hear it" Ron said with a sigh. No one said anything "I didn't think so; so Daphne you're going to talk to him."

Daphne nodded "I'll send you guys an owl a couple days after we all get home. It'd be better if all of us are there." The others nodded understanding "Alright one more thing to do before we leave… we need a name."

Ron nearly fell over from the sudden question especially when he heard "Oh yeah, we do" from Theodore and a couple nods from Blaise and Tracey.

"What's so important about a name" Ron asked.

"Don't you know anything" Tracey exclaimed "Every group needs a name; it makes everyone take them more seriously."

"Yeah" Ron said slowly "Alright who's got a name?"

"The Serpent Garrison" Theodore suggested.

"Keep the Garrison, but scrap the serpent" Blaise said. "The snake is already associated with the Dark Lord; we don't want to be copycats."

"The Dragon's Garrison" Ron suddenly said.

Everyone looked at him "Why dragon" Daphne asked.

"Well, dragons are considered the most powerful magical creature; they can fly, they can breathe fire and some of them are even impervious to certain magic" Ron explained. "I mean if we're going to try and beat the strongest then why not have our name be the strongest."

"He's got a point" Theodore said. "Dragon's Garrison; it's got a nice ring to it."

"Yeah, I like it" Tracey said.

"So we're all in agreement" Ron said and everyone nodded "Alright; well I'll see you guys later then."

"See you" he got in return as they all departed from each other. Getting his things packed up was rather easy; embarking down to the Hogwarts expressed dressed in a simply long sleeved black jumper and blue jeans Ron ignored everyone else around him. He did spot Harry loading his stuff onto the train also looking like he was less than happy.

The two of them briefly made eye contact and in that time Ron gave him a small almost unnoticeable nod, which Harry returned before they boarded the train. Ron found a single solitary compartment and once he did he shut the compartment and pulled the curtains down. No one came to the door the entire time.

The entire train ride home Ron just read through some notes he had taken from the books, most of them were Charms. Ron was always really good at Charms; in fact Charms was his best subject. He daresay if he applied himself in Charms he could actually do better than Hermione.

Once the train pulled into King's Cross station Ron now had no choice, but to sit with his mutinous family. In the back of the car he sat near the window on the passenger side just staring out ignoring everything else completely oblivious to the concerned looks from his sister and father.

Once home Ron was the first one inside the house and already had his things up to his room and unpacked before sitting at his desk and taking his homework out. He wanted to spend as much time training and doing magic over the summer that he could and homework would get in the way of that.

However just as the sun was about to disappear over the hills Ron heard his mother "Ron, could you come down here?"

"And here we go" Ron muttered, but complied. Setting his quill down Ron opened his door and started his trek downstairs and when he got to the bottom he immediately sensed the tension in the air, plus he noticed that his sister looked so depressed that she was close to tears and his father was brick red. That was a sure sign of danger as he hadn't seen his father that red since that time Fred and George tried to make him their servant with the Unbreakable Vow. "Yes" he said calmly.

"Ron" Molly began. "All of us have very important tasks to do this summer and you cannot be involved so you will be spending the summer at your Auntie Muriel's."

"Have fun with old bat" Fred and George smirked.

"Quiet" Arthur barked at them and they immediately went silent. Taking a breath he turned to Ron "Look, Ron –"

"I already know the story" Ron said nonplussed. "Harry told me everything. You don't have to worry about me anymore; I've got another friends place to go to. Two days from now I'll be gone if I ever see any of you again it'll be too soon." And with that Ron turned tail and marched out of the room his head held high, his blood boiling and his heart filled with sadness.

On his way back upstairs he could already hear the argument going on and did his best to block it out. Once he got to his room he shut the door all over again before going back to his homework. He had just finished his Charms homework when his door was thrown open. He just barely turned around when his vision was engulfed by his sister's long red hair as she gripped him tightly.

"Ginny" he said surprised.

Her shoulders were shaking and he could feel a small damp spot appear on his shirt "Don't leave… please don't leave" she whimpered into his shirt.

Ron felt his heart break at her small tone, but he held strong "Sorry Ginny, but I'm not wanted around here anymore."

"But you are" she shouted pulling back and he could now see her tear filled brown eyes. "Dad's been shouting at mom for hours after he found out Remus's plan and I don't agree with her either. Please Ron, you can't leave us."

Ron felt glad that he at least had his father and Ginny on his side, but it was impossible for things to go back to the way they were. "I'm sorry Ginny, but I can't stay here anymore. Four of my brothers and my own mother betrayed me; I'm sorry, but that's something even I can't forgive. As far as I'm concerned, unless Percy betrays me too, then Harry is my only real brother."

That just made her cry harder as she gripped him tighter and it made Ron feel even sadder.

"Ginny, stay close to Harry" he whispered. "With me not around he's going to need someone like you. You can keep him in line."

She hiccupped slightly "O-Okay."

He smiled and kissed her on the forehead "Now let's dry those tears." He gently wiped her cheeks dry "There, much better." Despite the growing sadness in her heart Ginny smiled softly.

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flames will be ignored.


	3. Chapter 3

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter Three)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Ron was about one minute away from marching into Fred and George's room and murdering them. These last two days had been hell for him; dealing with his brothers who were, in their words, trying to make him see reason, Fred and George's mocking and pranks. Not to mention his mother who had become shriller pretty quickly.

Not to mention he now had to go through with Percy leaving the family as well. He came home saying he had been promoted only for his father to say that they only promoted him because his family was close to Dumbledore. Well he didn't say it like that, but that's pretty much what it meant.

Percy got into a fight with Arthur that was so bad Ron was actually afraid to leave his room. However it was hard for Ron to feel sorry for Percy because not only did he insult Arthur worse than anyone ever could've, but when he had learned that Percy had also learned that Ron was told to stay away from Harry he had responded with 'Good.'

Well it was official now; Harry was Ron's only brother. Ron sighed as he finished the last of his homework before leaning back in his desk. It was official; life sucked right now. He didn't have time to relax though as a screech got his attention; he looked up and saw a black owl flying towards his window. Ron got up and opened the window; the owl flew right in and landed on his desk with a chirp.

Ron saw the message tied to the leg and he took it off before opening it up. 'It's time, use the Floo to get here. Say Greengrass Manor and also burn this note when you're done.'

Short, sweet and to the point was all the letter was. Ron picked is wand up and with a flick the letter burned away. Ron stowed his wand into his jeans and went downstairs; only his mother was downstairs washing dishes. Ron sneakily snuck past her and got to the fireplace. Stepping in he grabbed some Floo Powder "Greengrass Manor" he said clearly, but quietly before dropping the powder. His vision was then engulfed by green flames.

When the flames vanished Ron found himself stepping out of the fireplace of the nicest home he had ever seen. Apparently the fireplace was so nicely kept because there wasn't even soot on his clothes. When he stepped out he found Tracy and Theodore were already there with Daphne. "Hey" he greeted.

"Hello" they all greeted. Ron then realized it wasn't just them as he saw two older people whom he could only assume were Daphne's parents. The first one he noticed, because of his intense gaze, was Daphne's father. He had brown hair that was so dark it was almost black; it was very sleek and shiny with it barely touching his shoulders and he was wearing the nicest robes Ron had ever seen. He had small fuzz on his chin and a small moustache while having pale blue eyes.

Next Ron noticed Daphne's mother and Ron noticed that Daphne inherited all of her looks from her mother. She looked just like an older version of Daphne with the same shade of blond hair, green eyes, lips, nose and everything. The only difference was that Daphne's mother's blond hair was rather curly at the bottom.

"Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass" he greeted respectfully with an incline of his head. "Ron Weasley" he introduced "It is nice to meet you."

Mr. Greengrass gave him a small hum while scrutinizing him; Mrs. Greengrass was more vocal "Hello young man" she greeted softly. With that nothing else was said and the four of them stood rather awkwardly under the gaze of Daphne's parents while they waited for Blaise to show up and Ron sincerely hoped he would get here soon.

A couple minutes later and Blaise appeared out of the fireplace and greeted everyone and introducing himself to Daphne's parents. "Is this everyone" Mr. Greengrass asked. Daphne nodded "Good, now would you please tell me what this is all about Daphne."

Daphne took a seat in front of her parents while the others stood to the side "Father, do you believe the rumors about You-Know-Who returning?"

Mr. Greengrass narrowed his eyes "Where are you going with this?"

"Humor me" Daphne responded calmly.

He was silent for a moment before sighing "If it's coming from Dumbledore himself then it is not a lie. He would not make up something like this, now tell me why you asked."

Here came the hard part "Father, I remember mother telling me stories about the First Wizarding War. About how Pure-Bloods were being recruited to join the ranks of Death Eaters. You were one of few families fortunate enough to stay neutral, but with an inevitable second war coming… I don't know if you'll be this fortunate."

"Daphne" Mrs. Greengrass said sternly.

"I apologize if I sound abrasive, but I'm just being truthful" Daphne said with an apologetic look. "These are all the students at school who agree with me; they don't want to be in the Death Eaters."

"If that is true… then tell me why a Weasley is here" Mr. Greengrass said looking at Ron with a piercing gaze.

Daphne spoke up again "We realized that by ourselves we couldn't possibly last very long. We needed someone who had prior experience in dealing with the Dark Arts."

"I'm sorry, but my daughter is insinuating that you are associated with the Dark Arts" Mrs. Greengrass said looking at Ron.

Ron nodded "Yes, more than I care to admit; being best friends with Harry Potter does that."

"You're friends with Harry Potter" Mr. Greengrass said now sitting up straighter. Ron nodded "Then answer me this; why are you here helping my daughter when you could actually be helping Potter?"

Ron froze and felt his blood chill to ice; his blue eyes turned dull as he remembered why he was even here in the first place. He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw it was Theodore with a comforting look "Father, that's very personal –" Daphne protested.

"No, it's fine Daphne" Ron interrupted. He breathed in before he began to explain the entire story to Daphne's parents about everything that happened in the last days of their fourth year. By the end both of Daphne's parents looked furious "So… I guess I just figured it was for the best; help those who needed it."

Mrs. Greengrass spoke first "Oh you poor boy" she said sadly. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know" Ron said quietly. "They practically disowned me; I don't have a home to go to." Both of Daphne's parents shared a look.

"Anyway" Mr. Greengrass spoke "Tell me exactly what you five are planning."

"We want to survive and not be forced into servitude… and to do that we have no choice, but to fight" Daphne said. "I'm sorry father, but even if we tell them we'll stay neutral, this time they won't take no for an answer and I, and the rest of us, have no intention of serving You-Know-Who. Ron has experience in fighting the Dark Arts and together we're going to get stronger under his guide and we will fight."

It was silence in the room and the tension increased "And tell me my daughter" Mr. Greengrass began with his voice going lower with a sharp tint to it. "What makes you think I'm going to let you be led by a boy no older than you in fighting against Voldemort and his followers? Even if he has experience it is incredibly stupid, foolhardy and suicidal and I will not, in all good consciousness, let you and these children throw your lives away."

Before Daphne could speak Ron spoke up "With all respect sir; it's the most pragmatic move" Ron spoke drawing the attention. "What she said is the truth; You-Know-Who's not going to let anyone be neutral in this war. Everyone's either going to be with him or against him and, well this is the Gryffindor speaking in me, but it's better to fight and try then to constantly be running away for the rest of your life."

Once more it was silent "He's right" Theodore finally said.

"For once I'd rather try then hide" Tracey agreed.

"We're here because we believe we can do it" Blaise said.

"They're right father; we can't just hide in the shadows anymore" Daphne said agreeing with everyone.

Her parents were silent again as they stared at the five determined teenagers "Alright fine" Mr. Greengrass said. His wife turned to him sharply "I'll agree, IF… Ronald." Ron looked him in the eye "I'll agree to this crazy scheme if you can beat me in a game of Chess."

Ron remembered how Daphne told him her father loved chess and he grinned "Bring it" he said with a smirk. Mr. Greengrass snapped his fingers and a house elf appeared.

"Bring me my chess set" he said. The elf bowed and disappeared again and reappeared with a shining marble chess set. Ron took Daphne's previous seat while the chess pieces set each other up.

The others knew Ron was a tactical genius, but they also knew that Daphne's father was a Wizard Nation Wide Chess Champion. He had been undefeated for over ten years and those who did challenge him came nowhere close to defeating him.

The two of them began their match; Mr. Greengrass went first followed by Ron. The others could only watch as the two of them made move after move with the Chess pieces running across the field like spiders. For every piece Ron lost he would make Mr. Greengrass lose just as many pieces.

"How long has it been" Daphne asked staring at the board in shock.

Blaise looked at his watch "And hour and a half" he said.

"Sweet Merlin" Theodore muttered.

"Bishop to B6" Mr. Greengrass said and his bishop moved the required amount of spaces and took out Ron's Rook.

"Knight to B6" Ron said immediately and his Knight moved and struck down the Bishop.

Mr. Greengrass smirked "Rook to A8" he said. With Ron's Knight out of the way Mr. Greengrass' rook was free to move right by "Check." He looked at the board and smirked "Good game young man, but not quite enough."

"It's not over until the King falls" Ron retorted before he looked at the board and then he smirked "Bishop to C8" and with that Ron's Bishop moved backwards and blocked the path maneuver that would've killed his King. "You were saying."

"Clever, but not enough" Mr. Greengrass said. "Queen to C8." Ron silently cursed as he noticed that his bishop was now in the path of the queen. The queen pounced and Ron's Bishop was destroyed "Would you like to try again" he mocked.

"Yes; Pawn to G8" Ron smirked and Mr. Greengrass' eyes widened as he noticed too late that by moving his queen it left an opening for Ron's pawn to move into his territory. "Well now that I've done that; I think I'll take my queen back."

Ron's pawn left the field and his Queen took its place "Now would a professional actually let his opponent get into his own territory; I would think not." Now it was Ron's turn to start mocking.

Mr. Greengrass rose to Ron's trap just like he expected "Bishop to G8" and his own Bishop moved backwards and struck Ron's revived queen destroying it. "I always fix my mistakes."

"Apparently not" Ron smirked victoriously. "Bishop to F8." With that Ron's Bishop moved into the required spot "Checkmate."

Eyes widened as they all looked at the board and it was true; there was no way Mr. Greengrass could win this. He had lost and Ron had won. Mr. Greengrass then let out a laugh "That is the first time in over ten years that I've been beaten and by a teenager no less."

"Thank you sir" Ron said. "You are the biggest challenge I've ever had; it was an honor to challenge you."

The man smiled at Ron and stood up; Ron stood up as well "I had my doubts about you, but anyone who can defeat me is truly a tactical genius. Even though I just officially met you, I think I can trust you. My daughter is in your hands now Ron. So from one man to another, good luck Ronald."

Ron was shocked and felt oddly touched "Thank you sir" he said.

"Please, call me Nicholas" he smiled. Ron nodded with a small sheepish grin "Cynthia, dear; let's let them get onto their business. Go on" he ushered them to go outside. The five of them headed for the door and stepped outside closing the door behind them.

"Nicholas, have you truly lost it now" Cynthia said fiercely once they left. "Letting our daughter go out and fight and trusting her life to a boy her own age."

"That's no mere boy" Nicholas said confidently.

"And how do you know" she asked.

"Chess can tell you a lot about a person" Nicholas said. "From that one match I could tell young Ronald is a young man just trying to do what's right even after suffering a betrayal of his own family. Cynthia, he has a good head on his shoulders; even when he's down he still never stopped thinking three moves ahead. Anyone who can do that… can keep our daughter safe."

Cynthia was quiet now "I hope you're right dear."

"So do I… so do I" he said quietly staring out at Ron and his daughter.

Meanwhile the moment they left the house everyone turned to him "Mate, you actually beat Daphne's father" Theodore said in disbelief.

"He was quite a challenge" Ron conceded.

"Not only that, but you definitely earned his respect" Tracey gushed. "You have no idea how important that is."

"I just did what I had to do; nothing more" Ron said honestly. "Anyway, we got their support; let's get started." Theodore and Blaise immediately began paying attention.

"You know; for a Gryffindor, a friend of Potter and a member of a Blood Traitor family… he's a pretty cool guy" Tracey said.

Daphne looked at Ron and she got a small smile on her face when she saw him smile slightly "Yeah… he is" she said softly. With that the five of them spent a full day practicing all kinds of spells and tactics. Everyone was making significant improvement and they could do it freely because Daphne and Blaise knew the counter-spell to take The Trace off their wands so they could practice freely.

It was almost sundown when they finally called it a day; all of them were covered in sweat, tired and aching. Cynthia came out into the back and saw them on the ground exhausted and she stared at them.

'They really are trying; they really want to succeed and be free' she thought. She didn't like this; how could five teenagers possibly make a difference, but in her mind Cynthia knew that, no matter how much she didn't like it, it was the next generation's time to take over. "Daphne" she called getting her tired daughter to look up "Bring your friends in; your father wants to talk to all of you."

The five of them shared looks between each other before getting up with a few groans before they went into the house "You called for us father" Daphne asked.

Nicholas paused looking at all of them; all of them were sweating heavily with dirt marks all over their faces, hands and clothes. "I see that you five are really committed to this and I know that to be prepared you must familiarize yourselves with each other. Do you understand what I'm talking about?"

Blaise did "It's standard soldier practice; staying together, eating together and training together every day."

"Exactly" Nicholas said. "I know this is important to all of you and, even though I may not like it, I support what you're doing and I want you all to be safe. I'm offering the four of you to move into Greengrass Manor for the summer."

Everyone's eyes widened at the proclamation "F-Father" Daphne stuttered. "Are you serious?"

"I am" Nicholas said. "Tracey's stayed here many times; usually she's shared your room or she's been given a guest room. You've known Blaise and Theodore for a long time so what's the difference and you seem to trust Ronald exponentially. That way you're all under the same roof, no troublesome communication and you can all practice whenever you want to."

The five of them shared looks between them "I got no complaints" Tracey finally said.

"My father never notices when I'm gone so I'm okay" Theodore said.

"My mother's travelling for most of the summer so I'm fine" Blaise added.

"You all know my story" Ron said. "What about you Daphne; are you comfortable with it."

Truth was Daphne didn't know what to feel; she never expected her father to be so agreeable with this plan. It looked like Ron had impressed him more than she thought "No, I have no troubles" she said.

"Splendid" Nicholas said "Welcome to my home."

"Thank you" Ron, Blaise, Theodore and Tracey all said with polite inclines. For them things were looking up and looking bright.

SCENE CHANGE

Sadly for Harry Potter things were not looking so bright; he was downright miserable. He had been back at the Dursley's for only a week and it was easily the most miserable he had ever felt in his life. Every letter he had received from Hermione he just ripped it up and threw it away without opening it. He didn't want to talk to her, he didn't want to talk to the Weasleys and he didn't want to talk to anyone in the order. He wanted to talk with his best friend, but he couldn't now.

Now he was stuck with nothing to do 'Wait a minute' he thought. 'I can't practice magic… but I can at least stop being scrawny.' Harry stripped his shirt off and then he went on his hands and knees and began doing pushups. If he couldn't be magically fit yet then he could at least be physically fit.

SCENE CHANGE

That night at Greengrass Manor Ron was treated to very exquisite food; the stuff his mother… ex-mother made was the usual common stuff, but it was a good classic. Tonight Ron feasted on an exquisite food known as Boeuf Bourguignon, which was a French dish consisting of beef braised in burgundy wine, garlic, onions and mushrooms and for desert it was Flan.

Ron didn't even inhale his food like he normally did because in front of the people who were nice enough to take him in he wanted to appear very presentable. After the dinner was over the house elves took the dishes to be washed and the others got ready for bed.

The Greengrass Manor had plenty of guest rooms, but Tracey and Daphne decided to share a room as they were best friends while Theodore, Blaise and Ron got their own rooms. Ron just finished changing into some nightclothes, which was just a pair of shorts and a sleeveless top.

"Night guys" he called.

"Night" he heard four calls in return. Ron turned and shut his door silently before going to his bed. It was a modest full sized bed, which was pretty good. It had plenty of pillows and soft silk sheets; climbing onto the bed Ron lied there with a sigh.

He stared up at the ceiling for a bit 'Everything in my life is changing; some of it's good and some of it's bad… but in the end I'm doing what I need to for Harry to survive and also for the others to survive as well.' With those comforting thoughts Ron closed his eyes and drifted off.

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flames will be ignored.


	4. Chapter 4

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter Four)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

It took about a week for all of them to adjust to living with each other, but after that it was like nothing ever happened and everything was good. They didn't have to worry about the rest of the family's as Daphne's little sister, Astoria, was spending the summer on holiday with her friend Flora and Hestia Carrow. Luck also favored Tracey as her parents were heading off to Norway to visit her older brother Ashton.

And now things were like second nature to them; Ron, Blaise and Theodore, or now as he was commonly called as Theo, were usually the first ones up. It was Theo who told them that their magic might become stronger if their bodies were physically fit, a statement which was backed up by Blaise as he knew that the fitter your body was the stronger your magic would be.

To Ron it made sense why Crabbe and Goyle sucked so much at magic being so big with 60 percent of their bigness not being muscle.

So they got up close to five o'clock every morning and did morning jogging along with basic push-ups, chin ups, leg ups and crunches to work on their stomachs.

He girls sometimes joined them in the morning, but they were already in the most top fit condition that they really didn't need to. Currently Ron, Blaise and Theo were out doing their morning exercises. Theo was shirtless on the ground doing crunches, Blaise was doing one armed push-ups switching from arm to arm while Ron was also shirtless doing chin ups on a tree a little away from them.

It was modest and not that much, but the improvements were beginning to show. Right now they had a basic mastery of fifth year magic and were doing pretty well in Sixth Year Magic. Theo was showing his skills in transfiguration by bringing trees to life and making them do as he wished. Blaise was showing his mastery in curses as some of the ones he was showing off were downright dangerous.

Ron had brought up Legilimency and Occlumency with Daphne a couple days ago and she was looking into it. So far she was finding it quite fascinating and they found her practicing privately sometimes. So far Tracey hadn't shown a special skill in any particular subject of combat, but she learned things incredibly quickly, faster than anyone.

Ron was a master of Charms, in fact he had already master fifth and sixth year charms and was working on Seventh Year charms. Now in case they ever found themselves having to find a new place to hide Ron could cast protective charms to keep them safe.

After the three boys had finished their workout "Alright; the girls should be awake in about half an hour" Ron said wiping his face. "You two want to practice anything until then."

"Actually yes" Blaise said going over to his bag, which he brought out with him. He came back with a book "This is a book I found in my mother's library; she's gotten a lot of books over the years" he added seeing their looks. They had heard that Blaise's mother was incredibly beautiful and had been married seven times with each husband dying mysteriously not long afterwards leaving her lots of riches.

"Okay, what's the book about" Theo asked curiously putting his shirt on.

"It's a book on elemental magic" Blaise said getting their immediate attention. "There's a special charm in the book that will let you find out if you are in tuned to a particular element. It's a rare and complex charm that requires the one who wants to find out to sit in a specially drawn magic circle. If you are in tuned with a particular element it will show and you're known as an Element Bender."

"Element Bender" Ron said curiously. "Let me see the book." Blaise handed it over and Ron saw the drawing of the magic circle; it looked quiet complex to draw. He read that if a wizard was in tuned to an element then they could call upon it with a single thought with their wands and if enough training is put into it then the element could be unleashed without a wand.

Theo read over his shoulder "This could seriously come in handy" he said.

Ron nodded "Yeah" he thought about it for a moment. "Blaise clear a spot; just get rid of the grass." Blaise looked at him before shrugging and pulling his wand out.

"Evanesco" Blaise said waving his wand. A large section of grass vanished revealing plain ground.

Ron placed his wand onto the picture of the circle "Effingo" he said and the tip of his wand glowed blue. Walking towards the empty spot he stopped in the middle and touched the top of his wand to the ground "Conspersio" he said. The summoning circle that was in the book appeared on the ground only it as the same size as it was in the book.

Ron stepped back to the others "What are you doing" Theo asked confused.

"Engorgio" Ron said pointing his wand at the minute circle. Before their eyes it expanded until it took up the entire bare ground. "Saves us useless drawing time" he said to them.

"True enough" they both consented.

"Alright Blaise, it was your idea; you want to go first" Ron asked. Blaise walked into the middle of the circle "I'll take that as a yes" he said sarcastically. Then again in the short time he knew him Ron noticed Blaise was someone of few words. "Alright the book says that the one who has wants his element revealed must stand perfectly still inside the circle and must not move a muscle while the spell is casted. Got that?" Blaise nodded.

With that Ron looked at the spell and held his hand up "De potentia in se existunt: Elementum interius revelavit tibi" he chanted. The circle glowed a bright color surrounded Blaise in its ethereal glow. After a few seconds the glow died away "Blaise… you okay" he asked.

Blaise stepped away from the circle "I feel… powerful" he said. "How do you find out your element?"

Ron turned a page in the book "It says that your wand will be glowing a specific color if you are in tuned with an element." Blaise pulled out his wand and they saw it was glowing a dark green color. "The color green represent… Earth."

"Earth eh" Blaise used before he flicked his wand at the ground and to everyone's amazement the ground ruptured as though a boulder was dropped on it. "Nice "Blaise smirked.

It was impressive; with a mere thought and a wave of his arm Blaise could rupture the earth and control it at his whim. "I want to go next" Theo said eagerly. Ron had no complaints and Theo rushed into the circle; Ron performed the spell once more and when the glow died down Theo quickly grabbed his wand and saw it was glowing blue. "What does blue mean" he asked quickly.

Ron looked it up "The color blue represents… water."

Theo turned and with a wave of his wand a jet of water rushed out of his wand and with another twirl he easily turned the water into a giant water ball before letting it drop to the ground "Whoo" he said with a cheer and a grin.

'That's unlike Theo' Ron thought amused. But then again he did just do something awesome with water so it was to be expected.

"Sounds like something fun is going on out here" Daphne's voice said. The boys turned to see Daphne and Tracey coming outside dressed in just a simple pair of shorts and tank tops each "What's going on out here?"

"Practicing elemental magic" Ron said.

"That sounds awesome" Tracey immediately said "Why didn't you wake us?"

"After what happened Tuesday; I don't think so" Blaise said dryly. Theo and Blaise had been asked to wake the girls up and they had tried for a while and both of them got stinging jinxes to the arms in the girl's half-awake state. Ever since they just let them wake up on their own.

The girl's at least had the decency to look apologetic "Either way; me next, me next" Tracey said like a little girl.

"Okay, just go into the circle" Ron said slowly.

Tracey was there almost instantly whispering 'I hope its water, I hope its water.' "She likes water" Daphne whispered to Ron.

'I hadn't noticed' Ron thought sarcastically before performing the spell.

When it was over Tracey just stood there "Well… did it work" she asked quickly.

"Check your wand" Ron said. Tracey pulled her wand out and they saw it was blue "You got water, just like Theo." Tracey gave a happy squeal and launched ray after ray of water all over the area "Daphne control your friend."

Daphne had to lead Tracey away from the circle and tell her to calm down or she'd take her wand away. The way Tracey huddled the wand to her chest pouting at Daphne was highly amusing to the boys.

"Okay then, Daphne you want to go next" Ron asked.

"Sure, why not" she responded stepping into the circle. When Ron gave her the instructions she stood still and Ron performed the spell. When the glow died away Daphne pulled her wand out of her pocket and saw it was glowing a shining silver "What's silver mean?"

"The color silver is for… Wind" Ron told her. Daphne looked at her wand with a smirk before she launched a blast of wind from her wand at them and the surprise attack knocked them all on their butts. Daphne laughed at them while they sat up.

"Oh it's on Greengrass" Tracey said before pelting her with water. They boys just watched the two girls play with their new powers.

"Um… your turn now" Theo said.

"Oh right" Ron said. "Alright the spells right here; Theo you got it?" Theo nodded and Ron stepped into the circle while Theo performed the spell. A bright light engulfed Ron's vision and he felt a warm sensation engulfing his body. Yet as soon as it came it vanished and Ron pulled his wand out and the wand was glowing a bright red color.

Theo looked at the book "It says red mean fire" he told him.

Ron looked at his wand before waving it and a large wave of roaring fire shot out of his wand. He stopped after a moment "Nice" he said with a grin.

Theo turned a few pages in the book "The book also says that each element has special enhancing abilities. It says if your attunement to earth is strong enough you can even control metal." Blaise looked very interested "For water, its ice, storms when it's raining and even the ability to pull water out of thin air." Tracey and Theo shared excited looks. "For wind, it's the ability to fly and manipulate air currents." Daphne looked very intrigued. "And for fire it says that there's a slight chance you can increase its potency, which might change its color and also gain the ability to manipulate lightning."

Ron looked like a little kid who was getting his first trip to Honeydukes "Practice, let's go" he said shortly.

TIMESKIP

It was around lunch time when they had all called it a break; Cynthia had made them all a modest lunch of sandwiches and chips with their choices of either pumpkin juice or ale. Theo and Tracey took the pumpkin juice while Blaise, Ron and Daphne took some ale.

'It's not bad either' Ron thought sipping down the slight alcoholic drink that had a sweet tint to it.

Theo then spoke "Well we've got a basic power of spells and battle tactics and now elemental magic. Is there anything else specific we should know?"

Ron thought about it trying to think of the creatures they could come across. "Dementors" he said.

"Oh yeah" Daphne agreed "There's a chance of running into Dementor's especially if something like Third Year happens again. Do you know the spell?"

"I never really practiced it, but I do remember Harry telling me exactly how it's performed" Ron responded. After finishing lunch the five of them were back outside "Alright Harry told me that the only thing to stop a Dementor is the Patronus Charm. It's very advanced, considered beyond N.E.W.T level in difficulty."

"Sounds fun" Blaise said dryly.

Ignoring his tone Ron continued "In order to perform the Patronus Charm you need a happy memory, a VERY powerful memory. You have to let it fill you up, which is very hard when fighting Dementors, but it's the only way to stop them." Ron lifted his wand and concentrated on a very happy memory.

It took him a long time considering all the bad things that had happened to him recently, but eventually he found a memory; it was a vision of him and Harry as friends. The best of all friends together again.

The memory filled him up and Ron shouted "Expecto Patronum" he shouted. To his, and everyone else's, shock out of his wand a large winged creature burst from the tip of his wand roaring loudly before flying around the entire area. It was a large dragon, more specifically, because of its large size, a Ukrainian Ironbelly. The dragon gave a final roar before vanishing.

Everyone was silent now before Theo gave a small laugh "Dragon's Garrison indeed" he said. The others gave small laughs as well.

"That was amazing to see" Blaise admitted. "Good for you Weasley."

Ron smiled "Thanks; well alright the rest of you got the idea. A very happy and powerful memory, let it fill you up and then speak the incantation Expecto Patronum."

"Expecto Patronum" the rest of them whispered quietly. With that the four of them went quiet with Ron watching them quietly. Then, simultaneously, all four of them raised their arms "EXPECTO PATRONUM" they all shouted.

The results nearly made Ron fall over from shock because out of their wands burst simultaneous winged beasts that were in similar to Ron's own Patronus with their only being a few minor differences like height and proportions, but Ron recognized them all instantly.

From Daphne's Wand a Common Welsh Green Dragon erupted from it.

From Tracey's Wand a Peruvian Vipertooth Dragon blazed forth from it.

From Blaise's Wand a Hebridean Black exploded out from it.

From Theo's Wand a Norwegian Ridgeback burst forth from it.

'Dragon's Garrison indeed' Ron thought now agreeing with the title more than ever since all five of them had Dragon Patronus'.

END OF SUMMER

The summer had come and gone just like that and now it was time for the Dragon's Garrison to head back to school. Ron just finished packing his robes, brand new robes to be exact, they were a gift from Daphne's parents, before looking at himself in the mirror.

All the time he spent during summer training and practicing had really paid off; his hair was still pretty long, but it was very neatly groomed; his face had filled out well making him look slightly older and more handsome since he lost all baby fat in his face. He had even started growing a patch of facial hair, but not much.

'Locomotor' Ron thought pointing his wand at his stuff. His trunks levitated off the ground and headed downstairs with them. He thanked his new ability to cast spells without speaking to Blaise and Daphne who were naturals at it, but never bothered to show it at school.

When he got downstairs the others were there getting ready to go; since everyone here was a Pureblood they didn't use cars to get to King's Cross like Ron was used to. Instead they were going to Apparate to King's Cross where no one would see them.

SCENE CHANGE

Meanwhile at #12 Grimmauld Place Sirius was heading upstairs to fetch Harry to tell him it was time to go. Sirius was the only one Harry liked in the house and Sirius felt extremely pissed at everyone for what they not only did to Ron, but also to Harry. Nowadays he didn't talk to anyone except Harry.

When he got to the door he heard grunts of exertion and gave a knock before opening the door. When he did he saw Harry using a makeshift bar as pull up bar and was doing pull ups. His shirt was off and his entire torso was glistening with sweat; his hair was matted to his head and neck as well since his hair had grown longer and he hadn't bothered to cut.

"That's enough for today Prongslet" Sirius said. Harry did one more before dropping to his feet panting slightly; he turned to Sirius with his sweaty sticky hair obstructing his eyes slightly.

"Morning Sirius" he greeted "Is it time?"

"Time for school, yes it is" Sirius responded. He waved his wand over Harry and the sweat was gone and his hair was clean again along with the rest of him. "Time to get dressed; I've already got your things packed." Harry nodded and grabbed his shirt while Sirius left leaving him privacy to change.

For Harry the summer had been dreadful; when he finally got to come to Grimmauld Place he only got a select bit of information on what Voldemort was up to and the occasional new spell from Sirius, but other than that all he had been doing was getting his body in shape and learning nothing.

He now knew that these people had no idea what they were doing.

SCENE CHANGE

Upon arriving at King's Cross Station the five of them were engaged in idle chitchat while walking to the barrier. It was time; their fifth year of Hogwarts was upon them. Once the five of them crossed the barrier they headed towards the Scarlet Train; it was only 10:30 so they had plenty of time to find an empty compartment.

"Alright all of you, have a good year" Cynthia said to them as they got on the train.

"We will" they chorused.

"And Ron look after Daphne" Nicholas reminded.

"Father" Daphne whined while Ron laughed.

"No problem" he grinned ignoring the swat on his arm from Daphne. With that they got on the train Ron began to head another direction only to feel a hand on his arm. He turned to see it was Theo "What is it" he asked.

"Where are you going" Theo asked.

"To find a compartment" Ron said like it was obvious.

"There's an empty one right down here; come on" Theo said.

Now Ron was confused "Um…" he said hesitantly. "Won't your other housemates… be unhappy if they see me sitting with you guys?"

"Who gives a damn" Blaise said. He sighed a bit seeing Ron's look "Look Weasley; it doesn't matter what our house thinks of you or the Gryffindors. We have a Gryffindor as our Leader and that matters more than petty house rivalries."

"He's right" Tracey said nudging Ron in the side "You're stuck with us for life."

"Yeah so stop being so shy" Daphne said grabbing his hand and tugging him along while Theo clapped him on the shoulder with a grin. Ron felt a smile come to his face as he was surrounded by friends; before, when he was younger, he swore to never make friends with Slytherins, but here he was… and he didn't care.

Sure enough they found the compartment pretty quickly. Ron and Theo took the windows while Tracey took the seat next to door with Daphne in between her and Ron while Blaise sat next to Theo. "Who do you reckon we'll get as a Defense Teacher this year" Ron asked.

"No one good" Daphne muttered. "Dad told me it was Delores Umbridge."

Theo groaned loudly "Not that toad."

"Who the hell is Umbridge" Blaise asked bluntly.

"She's the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic" Daphne said. "A right horrible woman; she passed a lot of laws that made it near impossible for Half-Breeds to live in society. She's a prime reason Goblins, Werewolves, and Centaurs distrust humans."

"Bitch" Ron muttered.

"You have no idea" Theo said agreeing with him. "Guess you all know what that means."

"The Ministry's interfering in Hogwarts business" Tracey finished. This year was now starting to sound serious and not very pleasant and it hadn't even begun yet.

SCENE CHANGE

Upon arriving at Hogwarts the Dragon's Garrison headed for the carriages and thankfully they managed to avoid anyone that would cause them problems. Upon getting to the front Ron noticed Theo had stopped and was staring blankly in front of him.

"Theo, what's wrong" Ron asked touching his shoulder.

Theo snapped out of his staring "Nothing… just staring at the Thestrals" he said quietly.

"Thestrals" Ron said confused.

Daphne quickly grabbed his arm making him look at her "Thestrals can only be seen by those who've seen someone die." Ron got the hint and was quiet; he felt a whole new wave of sympathy for Theo if he had seen someone die before.

Still he didn't know the carriages weren't being pulled by something. He always thought they just pulled themselves with some kind of enchantment.

'You learn something new every day' he mused internally as he climbed into the carriage with the rest of his Garrison and they rode their way up to the magical school for another year.

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flames will be ignored.


	5. Chapter 5

Dragons Garrison (Chapter Five)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

The entire fifth year so far had passed by with the most troublesome thing being the new teacher, which was Delores Umbridge just like Theo and Daphne had said. Ron felt a whole new level of sympathy for Harry as he was on Umbridge's bad side from day one.

Speaking of his "former" best mate Ron had managed to meet Harry one time at night and the two friends spent the time to catch up with each other. Harry told him of his entire boring time at Grimmauld Place with only Sirius to talk to and Ron shared his training stories making Harry feel so envious at his friend's freedom. It felt nice to catch up with Harry for a bit, but unfortunately that was the only time they could catch up as Harry was constantly being followed around nowadays so it was impossible for them to meet.

Sadly Umbridge was the shittiest teacher they had ever had and they were just stuck with pathetic bookwork and reading with no practical practice whatsoever. Thankfully the Dragon's Garrison was well ahead of most of the classes and didn't have to worry about failing and instead they practiced their own specialties and abilities.

They had heard rumors that Harry had started up his own special club in secret to teach all those who wanted to learn proper Defense against the Dark Arts. Yet what baffled them was how they were doing it in secret. It wasn't until Ron had caught them one night sneaking out of a door that he had never seen before.

He debated on whether or not to tell the rest of his Garrison Members, but in the end he had decided not to tell them on the grounds that they wouldn't be able to use it because of Harry and his group using the room.

However things changed when Ron was called in the middle of the night to the Headmaster's office to hear his father had been attacked and placed in St. Mungo's in the critical ward. It was the first time he and his siblings had been in the same room since last summer, but Ron didn't care. All he cared about was his father at the moment.

Once getting to St. Mungo's he ignored everyone else and only focused on his father. He stayed longer than anyone, even his mother and when they were finally alone Arthur spoke to him "Son… I'm so sorry for what everyone has done to you."

Ron knew what he was talking about "Don't worry about it Dad; you didn't do anything and… I've got new friends now."

"Still it was wrong… and I wasn't there to stop it" Arthur said sadly. "Son, I promise you, when this is all over we'll be a proper family again."

Ron felt sad when he had to say this "Dad, only you and Ginny didn't betray me. I don't think things can ever go back to the way they were. This is not the stuff you can just forgive and forget about." He felt bad for saying that to his father, but it had to be said.

Ron hadn't forgave them yet… and he didn't know if he ever could.

He couldn't even go back for the Holidays so he stayed at Hogwarts while his ex-family and Garrison all went back home. Oh well, the bright side was that Ron had the dormitory all to himself so most of the time he practiced with his fire powers down at the frozen lake. Since it was so cold out with the snow coming down in waves it was harder for him to conjure fire so it would be a great training opportunity.

The holidays had ended rather quickly, but still things had not really changed around Hogwarts; Ron kept a façade of his old self to not draw some suspicion. Sure people had already seen him hang out with the rest of the Garrison, but they had only glared at him or bumped him in the halls. Ron wasn't going to reveal himself until the time was right.

Although on Career Advice day when he told McGonagall he wanted to be an Auror the look of sheer disbelief and shock made him want to show off what he could do, but he refrained.

The only time Ron took a break was to watch Gryffindor's Quidditch match; he had wanted to join the team, but with his new responsibilities he couldn't do it. If Ron ever had kids he resolved to give them a happy life and if he had multiple ones he would make sure he loved them all no matter what.

He was happy that Gryffindor won; the new bloke McLaggen was alright, he was quick when it came to blocking shots, but not that good when passing them back or being a team player. Thank God Angelina was very patient because she wanted to win; she was channeling Oliver during the whole year.

With Quidditch over it was time for their O.W.L. exams. Ron didn't care about his Astronomy, Divination or History of Magic exams so he only gave half assed tries on all of them, but he especially did well in DADA, Charms, Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures because not only were those the classes he needed to become an Auror, but when out in the field he would need to be able to recognize dangerous creatures, be able to identify poisons plants and be able to make antidotes.

Thank god all the practice and studying with his Garrison paid off.

However now that he was on his last one, History of Magic of course, something happened. Harry suddenly grasped his head and collapsed. That wasn't a good sign; Ron couldn't do anything, but wished he could. Binns wouldn't let him go until he was finished, but the moment he did Ron rushed out of the room and tried to locate Harry.

It wasn't until later that he found Harry outside running back to the castle with Hermione when they met up with Ginny, Neville, and some blond girl that Ron remembered as Luna Lovegood from Ravenclaw. Ron hid underneath the bridge hanging on silently listening to them about how Sirius had to be saved from the Ministry. Harry was vehemently trying to stop them from coming, but all of them were quite stubborn and Harry finally relented, more out of impatience instead of their compassion to help him.

With no broomsticks they took off on Thestrals and soon disappeared into the sky. With that Ron climbed back up and stared at them as they disappeared into the clouds. Ron grit his teeth slightly "Damn it" he cursed.

He ran back to the castle and went to the nearest chimney figuring it was safe because if they could leave like that without Umbridge raising hell then they must have taken care of her somehow. He found a chimney pretty quickly and making sure no one was looking he shed his Hogwarts cloak and pulled out a new cloak.

Over the summer Daphne's father had gifted the entire Garrison with their own cloak. Since he was a Clothing Mogul of the highest degree he could make anything clothing wise incredibly quickly and so he had created all of them special cloaks.

The cloaks were black in color made from dragon's hide to protect them from spells while on the back of the cloak there was a hood and emblazoned on the back of the cloak was a symbol of a dragon circling the Wings of Freedom Symbol because that was what the Dragon Garrison represented: Freedom.

Putting his cloak on made sure he had his wand next to him before stepping into the fireplace taking some Floo Powder with him "Ministry of Magic" he said clearly before vanishing in a flurry of green flames.

He popped out of the fireplace and saw the place was empty; quickly Ron ran into the main atrium past the fountain; he had no idea where Harry and the others were, but he had to find them "Point Me" he said with his wand lying flat in his hand. The wand turned a bit pointing to his left so Ron took off in the general direction.

He crossed through a dark area, and some mysterious brains in a tank before finding himself peering over a deserted area that had nothing, but a mysterious veil standing alone on some large rocks. He heard some hasty running and some explosions from above and, taking that as a sign, he pulled his sleeve on his right wrist back revealing a dark dragon tattoo with the dragon blowing flames.

Ron pressed the tip of his wand to his mark and the mark glowed a bright red color making Ron hiss slightly.

FLASHBACK

It was just a couple weeks before school would start "Alright we've made some good improvements, but we need a backup plan in case one of is separated so we can come to each other's aid."

"Good point" Tracey conceded. "But how exactly can we do that; we can't just send a spell in the air because that could be a trap."

"I've got an idea" Theo said quietly getting their attention. "It's kind of crude, but it'll be effective. We could put specific marks on a part of our body and be able to signal each other at a moment's notice."

"Like the Dark Mark" Daphne asked and Theo nodded softly.

"My father told me about the Dark Mark" Theo continued in a soft voice. "He told me it would burn when… the Dark Lord was calling and told me… that I would get it someday."

"Theo, it's okay" Blaise said patting his shoulder gently.

Tracey grabbed his hand softly "You're not your father Theo; it's a great idea."

"She's right Theo" Ron agreed. "Instead of being a Dark Mark it'll be a Mark of Freedom." Theo smiled softly and nodded and together they spent a day drawing out their symbol and eventually came up with a Hungarian Horntail blowing a breath of fire. Then it took them about a week to find the right spell to burn it into their forearms.

Once done they had to give it another week to heal before officially trying it out, and when they did it was a success.

END FLASHBACK

Ron just finished calling the Garrison when he saw everyone falling down from the darkness above "Arresto Momentum" Hermione's voice shouted and they all stopped right before hitting the ground. However even though they had stopped themselves from falling to death they were still surrounded by six Death Eaters with everyone except Harry being held hostage at wand point.

Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange were the ones surrounding Harry trying to get something from him and Ron saw Harry hand something over. Feeling his mark burn Ron knew everyone was almost here so he went into action.

For Lucius and Bellatrix they were celebrating their victory when all of a sudden there was a red light behind them. They slowly turned around only to come face to face with an angry Ron Weasley "Get away from my little brother" he said with quiet fury before he singlehandedly backhanded both Lucius and Bellatrix in one smack.

Then it all began!

Multiple shrouds of red mist filled the area flying around the room knocking the Death Eaters back away from everyone else. Once done the red mist began vanishing and in its place stood four other people dressed in the same cloak as Ron.

The Dragon's Garrison had arrived.

One Death Eater suddenly started firing spells at Ron and Harry. Wordlessly Ron erected a shield blocking all the spells before the Death Eater took off in a wisp of black smoke. Quickly Ron grabbed Harry with his free hand and moved him to a safer location.

Across from him Tracey jumped across the rocks avoiding spells getting to Blaise and Theo who had shielded Ginny, Neville and Hermione before passing them down to Tracey for her to protect.

"Listen to me" Ron said hastily to Harry while they were crouched avoiding spells "I want you to take the others and leave."

"What, no I'm staying with you" Harry protested.

"You've done amazingly" Ron said with a smile. "Now let us take it from here."

"WEASLEY" Lucius Malfoy said furiously as a spell almost hit the two boys in the head. He was glaring at them his lip dripping some blood before he pulled his wand out of his cane like a sword. Another death eater with a twisted face jumped up next to him.

Ron was already facing him and Harry attempted to stand and fight, but a wisp of red smoke in front of him knocked him back next to others and now Daphne stood next to Ron her wand ready. Lucius sneered at them before launching a spell at Daphne.

Ron extended his shield in front of her and protected her; Lucius and the other Death Eater launched more spells simultaneously and Ron blocked them both allowing Daphne to try and blindside them. It was standoff between the two of them and all the five DA members could do was watch in shock and amazement.

Bellatrix's insane laughter filled the chamber as she flew all around the room with Tracey chasing after her. Behind the DA members Theo was protecting them by taking down all Death Eaters who came their way. Finally on the other side of the room Blaise was engaged in a duel with two Death Eaters at once.

It was amazing; just five of them were fighting on par with killer Death Eaters and were actually winning. Behind them Theo had just knocked out a Death Eater while Blaise had knocked one out against the wall before pointing his wand at the ground and a slab of Earth rose up and hit the second Death Eater in the chest launching him back where he landed hard against another slab of rock and was knocked out.

Meanwhile with Ron and Daphne their battle was starting to close up. Ron just blocked another spell while Daphne's spell hit the second death eater in the chest sending him flying back where Tracey knocked him out. Then Ron advanced on an alone Lucius who was falling back.

A quick twirl of his wand and Lucius' own wand was sent flying. Then with a smirk Ron launched another spell and Lucius was sent flying.

"AVADA KEDAVRA" Bellatrix shouted.

The green spell of death raced through the air heading right towards Ron and Daphne; remembering his promise to keep Daphne safe Ron quickly dove on top of her shielding her body with his own. Luckily for them Tracey had spotted Bellatrix and, thinking quickly, she grabbed the glowing orb sticking out Malfoy's robes and threw it in the incoming path of the spell.

The orb shattered in a loud explosion and Bellatrix's face showed pure horror at what she had just done. The ghostly figure that appeared went unheard because of Bellatrix's absolute scream of fury.

Seeing they were still alive Ron got up glaring at Bellatrix "You're all that's left; you won't catch any of us off guard again" he said raising his wand. Bellatrix sneered before turning tail and running "Don't let her escape."

The five of them chased after Bellatrix running as fast as they could and they found themselves back in the Ministry Atrium and just as they crossed the fountain Theo shouted "Stupefy." The stunning spell hit Bellatrix right in the back and she collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.

"Incarcerous" Ron said and ropes completely bound Bellatrix.

"Alright our first battle went pretty well" Tracey said with a grin.

"We got them by surprise; they'll know about us next time" Blaise said gravely. "Either way, let's find out why they came here in the first place; Daphne."

She nodded before pointing her wand at Bellatrix "Legilimens" she said and delved into Bellatrix's mind. They stood there for a few seconds before Daphne breathed in deeply stepping back holding her head.

"Daphne" Ron said concerned grabbing her by the shoulders.

Daphne rubbed her forehead "She's one crazy lady, but she's got strong mental shields; it would take me quite a bit to penetrate them."

Suddenly the five of them felt a highly malicious aura followed by dark cackling "Well, well, a young Legilimens even capable of entering Bellatrix's mind; I'm impressed." The five of them turned and went wide eyed as they stared at a tall thing man, wearing a dark black cloak holding a wand in his hand. He had a chest plate on his torso with a serpent design while his flat snake-like face was facing them with his red eyes flaring.

"V-Voldemort" Ron stuttered.

The Dark Lord chuckled at his fear "I am impressed that five young wizards and witches like yourselves could form a group to fight me. And all of you purebloods as well; it will almost be a shame to kill five of you, but... you took something from me, my prophecy." Tracey gulped remembering the orb she threw to block Bellatrix's spell "YOU HAVE MADE A FOOL OF ME AND I WILL NOT STAND FOR IT." After his shout Voldemort gave them all a small pleasant smile "Now… die" he said.

Quick as lightning he launched his spell at them, but luckily Ron saw it in time and just barely launched his own spell in time. The entire atrium was shaking from the sheer power of the two clashing spells. Ron was barely able to stay standing; he had to hold his wand in both hands just to match Voldemort.

Voldemort gave off yells flicking his wand sending off lightning bolts. Luckily Daphne was behind Ron and cast a shield spell to protect him and the rest of them. Voldemort glared and kept trying, but Daphne's shield held strong.

Ron was fighting back as much as he could, but Voldemort was incredibly strong; just barely he managed to turn his head and nod to Tracey and Theo and they got the message; attack when Voldemort was open.

Ron then broke the connection and with his left hand and wand he conjured a large fire. Voldemort was actually surprised one so young could conjure a fire like this; the fire mutated and took the shape of a large dragon and with a roar the dragon took off after Voldemort.

With a flick of his wand Voldemort disoriented the dragon, but didn't destroy it so he compressed all the fire into a ball before launching it as a wave towards them. With a wave of his own wand Ron destroyed the fire.

Theo and Tracey saw their chance and jumped past Ron and pointed their blue tipped glowing wands at Voldemort. The water from the fountain jumped out and with a twirl of their wands it surrounded Voldemort and turned into a massive water ball. Together, with their hands opposite hand cupped parallel with their wands as they both tried keeping the water together.

They grunted in exertion trying to keep the water together, but a yell from Voldemort and with his sheer power he destroyed the water. When Voldemort was free he yelled and launched a spell that released a stream of black mist at them.

Blaise had jumped in front of them and erected a wall of magical enhanced earth and it managed to hold off the spell. Voldemort saw that and with a thought he compressed his spell into a ball of pure magic before detonating it; his yell echoing off the walls and the backlash knocking all five of them to their backs.

All the windows in the atrium shattered littering the area with glass. Then with a smirk he held his wand in both hands above his head pointed at them. All the glass began rising up before it flew at them whistling through the air.

Daphne brought her wand up and a silver barrier was erected and when the glass impacted with the glass was mulched up so much that that it would take a microscope to find all the shards.

Voldemort sneered at them angered that they were not dead. He had fought tons upon tons of wizards and witches and none, except Dumbledore, had lasted this long. Yet these five children were still breathing and worse yet they were standing up wands raised defying him.

Voldemort was just about to attack again when the fireplaces behind the Garrison lit up and people began spilling through just as Dumbledore and members of the Order of the Phoenix arrived. Voldemort stared at both parties and both parties froze and stared at him before a swirl of black mist enveloped the Dark Lord and he completely vanished

In the deafening silence Minister Cornelius Oswald Fudge spoke in a small, frightened, childlike whisper "He's back."

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flames will be ignored.


	6. Chapter 6

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter Six)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Now the Dragon's Garrison found themselves standing in Dumbledore's office, Umbridge having been sacked when Voldemort had reappeared and not to mention in the hospital wing suffering from traumatization after being carried off by Centaurs.

The five of them were just standing there and were facing Dumbledore, the five DA students they rescued and the members of the Order of the Phoenix that showed up to help, those being Sirius, Tonks, Remus, Moody and Kingsley.

The five of them did not look happy; finally Dumbledore spoke "I suppose I shall ask the question that is on everyone's mind; what is this group of yours?"

"We are the Dragon's Garrison" Theo answered his arms crossed, his eyes blank and his voice monotone.

"Dragon's Garrison" Dumbledore said with interest. "Am I correct assuming this is a special group dedicated to a purpose?" They just nodded "And what is this purpose?"

"Take a guess" Blaise said with a grunt.

Some people frowned at him for his tone, but Dumbledore was not offended "You fight against Voldemort as well." It wasn't a question "But I must ask; why do you get involved and risk your lives like this."

Ron and Daphne shared a look and he gave an inconspicuous nod. She spoke "We fight because we don't want to serve?"

"Serve" Dumbledore said looking politely befuddled.

"All five of us are Pureblood Wizards and Witches" Daphne began. "With Voldemort back he will stop at nothing to get all Purebloods on his side and we are the ones who do not wish to serve so we formed a group and trained ourselves to fight."

"I admire your courage" Dumbledore said. "But it is still rather risky."

"You saw the results" Tracey said getting tired of this pointless meeting. "We beat all the Death Eaters at the ministry and even held our own against Voldemort himself. As far as I know only you have been able to do that… sir."

Dumbledore was silent for a moment "I take it you are the leader of this group Ms. Greengrass" Dumbledore asked changing the topic.

Daphne shook her head "I only gathered us up and proposed the idea; our leader is the strongest." She reached out and touched Ron's shoulder "Ron is our leader."

"He's your Leader" Hermione couldn't help, but say in shock.

Daphne gave Hermione a cold stare "Yes Granger he is and I will precisely tell you why. We wanted a Leader who had experience fighting the Dark Arts and that narrowed it down to either him, Potter or you. We couldn't go to Potter as he already has too many people watching out for him and it would do us more harm than good. You, Granger, are incredibly smart and know lots of spells, but you are too by the books and you have absolute no survival instincts."

Daphne then turned to Ron "But him" she said and there was a hint of pride and affection in her voice. "When we had our first practice session not only did he agree to it, but he also beat all four of us using at maximum only five spells." Ron got some wide eyed looks "He didn't know many spells, but he didn't need to; his instincts allowed him to use what other wizards would overlook. He taught us that the terrain was our weapon as well, to use anything we can set our eyes on. He's a tactical genius of the highest degree and the strongest of the five of us… no one can come close to filling his shoes as our leader."

Everyone was silent after Daphne's passionate speech about Ron while Ron was blushing brightly, his ears were red, but he calmed down pretty quickly. It wouldn't do well to act embarrassed in front of the one who spoke so highly of him.

Dumbledore broke the silence "I see" he finally said. "Mr. Weasley" he said and Ron turned to him. "Your teachings have proven to be most beneficial to be able to turn yourself and four students into fighters. I wish to offer you and your Garrison a spot in the Order of the Phoenix."

Dumbledore got more wide eyed looks from everyone in the room, but Ron just remained stone faced. "I'm sorry, but I decline" he said further shocking everyone, except his Garrison who smirked grandly. Ron pulled his right sleeve up exposing his Mark of the Dragon, and his Garrison did the same. "We are Dragon's, the strongest of the strongest… we simply cannot lower ourselves." They pulled their sleeves down "If that is all, good day" Ron said before turning and leaving. His Garrison followed behind him loyally and on their backs they all saw the symbol of the Wings of Freedom.

The year had ended now and now the five of them were on their way down to the train "Well this was a hell of a year; we did our O.W.L's, lost another Defense Teacher, fought Death Eaters in the Ministry and not to mention Voldemort himself and now he and Dumbledore know about us" Blaise listed off.

"Yeah, gonna be hard to beat this year" Tracey agreed. "So what do we do about this summer?"

"I don't know, but I need to find someplace to hide" Theo said making his companions look at him with concern. "Hello, my dad's a known Death Eater and odds are he's waiting for me at home. If he doesn't kill me than Voldemort will."

"That's not gonna happen" Tracey said "You can stay with me this summer."

"Really" Theo said with hope. Tracey nodded with a smile "Thanks Tracey" he said with a smile of his own. Blaise, Ron and Daphne shared looks and almost laughed.

"Anyway" Ron said getting the attention. "We can't meet all the time like last summer; all we can really do is train and practice by ourselves this time, but we can meet up at certain times when it's convenient."

"That's good; my mother's gonna be home this summer so I can't just go off all the time anymore" Blaise said.

"Well, I guess I'll have to face my family now" Ron said glumly.

"What are you talking about" Daphne said confusing Ron. "You're coming back with me to Greengrass Manor."

Ron's eyes widened "B-But, I thought that was just for last summer."

Daphne gave a small laugh "Nope, you already told us last summer that your family practically disowned you. My father is more than happy to take you in and my mother agrees."

Ron was shocked, but the shock turned into joy "Thanks Daphne" he said and surprised her when he pulled her into a one armed hug. Daphne's face turned bright pink, but she did hug him back. This time it was Blaise, Tracey and Theo who were resisting the urge to snicker.

The train ride home was spent with the five of them just sitting in the compartment messing around exchanging a few stories, but nothing else really worth mentioning. Once they got off on King's Cross Station the first to depart was Blaise who was greeted by his mother and Ron would definitely agree with the rumors; she was incredibly beautiful.

Next he saw Tracey and Theo go and greet Tracey's parents; Tracey had explained some kind of story to them and it looked like it was okay as Theo shook hands with Tracey's father with a smile. With that Ron turned and walked with Daphne and soon they found Daphne's parents with a young, cute brown haired girl. Ron looked back and forth between the two sisters; where Daphne had inherited her mother's looks, her sister definitely took after her father.

"Hello sir" Ron greeted with a firm hand shake to Nicholas.

"Hello my boy" Nicholas smiled at him before Ron exchanged his greetings with Cynthia "I take it Daphne told you the news." Ron nodded with a grin.

"What news" Astoria said confused "Why is Ron Weasley here?" She didn't sound condescending, just very curious.

"Well honey, certain circumstances have happened and Ron Weasley, as your sister's new friend, will be staying with us for the summer" Cynthia explained.

"Oh, okay then" she said. Ron blinked; she took that better than he thought she would. So with that he walked out of King's Cross Station with the rest of them pushing his stuff on the trolley. Once they got outside the station the two parents put their hands on the three children and then they all vanished in a pop.

SCENE CHANGE

At Grimmauld Place Harry stared down the stairs coldly as the adults were bickering loudly back and forth about all they had just learned. 'Yeah that's right; see the mistake you all made' he thought vindictively.

"They still shouting" a voice said behind him. Harry turned and saw it was Ginny; next to Arthur and Ron, Ginny was the only Weasley Harry still liked.

"Like you wouldn't believe" Harry muttered as they both stared down at everyone.

Ginny sighed "My mother was a damn fool; they all judged him because of his habits when they never gave him a chance. Granted I didn't think he was too mature at times, but I never would've just banished him from being your friend."

"Glad you have sense" Harry said softly.

"And now look where he is" Ginny said with an ironic grin. "He's got his own organization and their doing better than this lot are." Harry and Ginny snickered again as they heard another loud roar of banter between everyone downstairs. "You know" Ginny began. "Sirius has a lot of powerful books in his library… with no one guarding it."

Harry looked at her and it took him a moment before his eyes lit up "Meaning I can look through it all I want" he grinned before racing upstairs. He stopped and looked back for a moment "You want to come along; I'll get awfully bored by myself."

Ginny looked at him for a moment surprised he would invite her before she smiled "Sure." She followed Harry upstairs into the Black Family Library and together they got away from the useless bickering going on downstairs.

SCENE CHANGE

Back at Greengrass Manor Ron had just finished unpacking his things only to hear a knock on his door; he was back in the room he had when he stayed last summer. He went to the door and saw it was Daphne "What's up" he asked.

"Well… I think I've almost got down being able to fly with my wind power; I was wondering if you would mind helping me" she asked looking a little shy.

"Sure, no problem" he said with a smile. He grabbed his wand off the desk and put it in his pocket "Let's go." They began heading downstairs and headed out the backdoor into the large backyard plain "Daphne" he suddenly said.

"Hmm" she said.

"What you said… back in Dumbledore's office" Ron began rubbing the back of his head. "Did you mean it?"

She smiled; and to Ron it looked like it was a smile of an angel "Yes I did; I meant everything Ron. You're a brilliant wizard, you're incredibly smart and you're a great leader. We couldn't have done half the stuff we did if it wasn't for you."

Feeling his heart pounding in his chest Ron smiled "Thanks Daphne… so let's see you fly." Daphne smiled and pulled her wand out and focused. Ron felt the wind pick up around them with it all originating from Daphne's body. The wind slowly began to pick up blowing their hair about and after a moment Daphne slowly began to rise from the ground. Her feet left the ground and she was floating nearly a foot off the ground.

'Sweet Merlin, she's actually doing it' Ron thought amazed. However just as quick as it was going good things began to go bad. Suddenly the wind picked up too much and she shot about twenty feet in the air with a yelp and then began to plummet.

"Whoa there" he gasped and quickly got underneath her and caught the falling blond in his arms. He gently set her back on her own two feet "You did pretty good for the first try, but I think you need more practice."

"Damn and I thought I had it; I could feel my control over the wind" Daphne complained. "It was very steady, but then it just slipped."

"The wind is sporadic" Ron said. "Unpredictable; it flows one way for one minute and then suddenly changes directions at a much faster pace the next minute. It must be difficult to control."

"Hey Aristotle have you seen my friend Ron Weasley" Daphne asked innocently.

"Haha, very funny" Ron said sarcastically. "Come on, give it another try." Unknown to them, from the kitchen window, Astoria was watching her older sister Ron the entire time. She watched throughout most of the day as Daphne attempted to fly without a broom, and was almost successful, as well as watching the two of them engage in a mock duel.

They were amazing; she always knew her sister was very smart and strong, but watching Ron duel was amazing; he was besting Daphne in every possible way and Astoria knew Daphne could get competitive, but every time she lost she would just get right back up all fired up and go right at it again.

It wasn't until around the late afternoon when they finally stopped, both of them covered in sweat and dirt. Astoria watched as Ron helped her sister up from the ground before the two of them walked back inside chatting about nothing. Astoria quickly made it look like she just came into the room. She raised an eyebrow at their appearance "What happened to you two; you start mud wrestling?"

Both of them blushed "No, of course not" Daphne denied. Seeing her sister's raised eyebrow Daphne nudged Ron in the side "Say something" she hissed.

"Oh… um…" he stammered. "I need to take a shower" he said incredibly quickly before racing off.

Daphne didn't like that "Hey, not before me; get back here" she shouted taking off after him. Astoria stared after them before laughing; Ron was funny and she was looking forward to the summer. Unfortunately for Daphne Ron beat her to the shower first and she was left stewing outside the door with a scowl. Well it looked more like a pout than a scowl "Hurry up" she barked pounding on the door.

"Give me a minute woman" he barked back.

"Don't take that tone with me" she shouted.

"Do you have any idea how much you guys sound like an old married couple" Astoria said walking up to her sister.

Daphne turned bright red "A-Astoria, don't say things like that." The door cracked open "Finally" she said with relief.

"Um" Ron said peeking through the crack in the door "You mind vacating for a moment so I can get to my room?"

"Ron I want a shower now, beat it" Daphne said.

"Alright, you asked for it" Ron said opening the door. However, in his rush to get to the shower he never had a chance to grab new clothes so all he had on was a towel around his waist giving both females an eyeful of his toned arms, impressive pecks and developing six pack abs.

Seeing both females just staring Ron's ear turned red and he quickly walked off keeping his towel held tightly to his waist before he disappeared into his room. It was silent between the two sisters "Hey Daphne… is he single" Astoria asked. The bathroom door slammed with Daphne inside of it "So is that a yes" she called.

Stripping down and letting the hot water run over her body Daphne tried to get what she saw out of her mind. Sure she had been around Ron for over a year now and she had seen him shirtless before, but for some reason this one was different. She had never really… "Looked" at him before.

Now that she did she couldn't help, but take notice that Ron had become incredibly handsome; his long, thick red hair, his bright blue eyes, his charming smile and those muscles, was it suddenly getting hotter in there… oh god she couldn't believe what she was thinking.

Did she really develop a crush on Ron Weasley?

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flames will be ignored.


	7. Chapter 7

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter Seven)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

A week had passed since the summer had begun and whenever Ron wasn't sparring with Daphne in the backyard he was planning their next move; honestly he was surprised that they hadn't been attacked yet since Bellatrix, the only Death Eater not to be recaptured, had seen all of them.

Well Ron had always been a pragmatic person and preferred making the first move so he sent a message to Tracey asking her to gather as much intelligence as possible. You see in the Garrison everyone had a certain set of skills and uses that made them all unique and they were as followed:

Ron Weasley: Leader, Charms Expert, Tactician and a Fire Mage.

Daphne Greengrass: Second-in-Command, Interrogator, Potions and Wind Mage.

Tracey Davis: Assassin/Spy, Herbologist and Water Mage.

Theodore Nott: Medic, Transfiguration Expert and Water Mage.

Blaise Zabini: Curse Master, Magical Creature expert and Earth Mage.

As such Tracey was best when it came to figuring out how best to get the information that they needed. Not to mention her Animagus Form was an Eagle so she could spy rather easily.

Yes, during the summer last year they had been learning to be Animagi; Tracey and Theo were the best so they were teaching them how to do it. So far only he and Tracey had gotten it down with Tracey's form being a Bald Eagle and Theo's form being a Snow Wolf. Blaise, Daphne and Ron were still working on theirs and it wasn't easy.

Now on a Saturday night Ron has just finished up part of his homework when his wrist burned. He pulled his sleeve up and he saw his mark burning a bright red; opening his window Ron vanished in red smoke and flew outside the window and landed on the ground; a few seconds later Daphne did the same. "What's going on" she asked.

"You'll see" was all Ron said. About two minutes later Blaise appeared in a similar wisp of red smoke and after him came Theo who landed next to Ron. The loud call of the eagle got their attention and they looked up to see the majestic bird fly down towards them before landing on the ground and morphing back into Tracey. "What have you found out" he asked.

Tracey straightened up "Your hunch was correct; Voldemort is gathering up more for his army. He's sent a battalion of Death Eaters to recruit a family of giants up at Ben Macdui Mountain."

"And the forces there" he asked.

"Somewhere between 30-40 Death Eaters" Tracey said.

"Alright it's going to be tricky, but I think I got a plan" Ron said.

"Ron, what is going on" Blaise finally asked.

Ron turned to face them "Now that Voldemort knows about us he'll start building up his armies even more so it's best to strike now while we can."

"I agree" Theo said agreeing with his leader "So what's the mission?"

"Theo, you and me will take care of the trouble at Ben Macdui" Ron said. "Daphne, until we return you're in charge."

Daphne, still slightly overwhelmed at everything being planned so quickly, could only nod "Be safe you two" she said softly.

"We will" Ron assured her. Both boys exchanged their quick goodbyes with everyone before Ron and Theo vanished in a red cloud of smoke.

"I trust Ron with my life" Blaise said a moment later "But I really hope he knows what he's doing?"

"Of course he does" Daphne said having confidence in him. "That's why he's the Leader. In the meantime, Tracey, anything else to report?"

SCENE CHANGE

Ron and Theo whisked through the air, but kept low so as to not be spotted. It took them about an hour of travelling before they got to a peak of the mountainside; it was snowing heavily because of the high altitude. The two of them had their cloaks on and covered their heads with their hoods "What now" Theo asked.

"We'll keep cover right here until daybreak" Ron told him. Shivering he blew some fire from his mouth into his hands warming them up.

"Don't be selfish, share" he said holding his own freezing hands out. Ron smirked and blew some fire for Theo to warm his hands up as well.

"If you're so cold why don't you transfigure some rocks into gloves" Ron smirked.

Theo was quiet for a second before doing just that "Shut up" he muttered when he heard Ron snickering. It was going to be a long night for the both of them.

The moment it was daybreak the blizzard had finally stopped and now it was just lightly snowing; the two boys were on the edge keeping as warm as they could. Hearing noise the two of them looked up and saw two black smokes flying over them signifying that they were death eaters "Breaks over Theo, let's go" Ron said.

The two of them stood up and quietly moved along the edge, it was so narrow that one misstep would send them plummeting to their deaths "We should avoid using magic at least until we're higher up so we won't get spotted" Theo said as they maneuvered.

Ron agreed "Right." They got to the other side on another narrow ledge and Ron thought for a moment before applying a temporary sticky charm to his hands and doing the same to Theo "As long as the ice holds we can get up there" he said. Ron tested it out and pressed his hands into the cold ice and began to climb a bit "Alright the ice is good" he said.

Theo did the same and while the ice was absolutely freezing his hands stuck to the ice and the two of them began to climb up slowly, but surely. They had to watch out for cracked ice otherwise their hands wouldn't stick; that was the downfall of a regular sticky charm, it only stuck to smooth surfaces and took a rough pull to come off on smooth surfaces. If it was on a crack at all then they wouldn't stick as well, if not at all.

After five minutes the two of them got to a higher ledge and saw an incline that would lead them to the top. "Alright mate, see you on the other side" Ron said before taking off in a sprint and jumping. He stuck to the ice on the incline "Alright Theo, your turn."

Theo breathed out slowly to steady his nerves before taking off in a sprint and jumping; he stuck his hands to the ice, but he began slipping. The ice was crackly where he landed.

"Hold on" Ron shouted as Theo slipped even more until he was holding on by just the ledge. Looking down he could see it was a few thousand feet between him and the ground; turning back he breathed in harshly holding onto the one part of the ledge with all his strength, but the crackly ice underneath his hand made it impossible for the sticky charm to hold him.

He began to plummet, but Ron, at the last moment, appeared and grabbed his hand holding him up "Okay Theo, I'm gonna throw you up; use your water magic and harden the ice into smooth texture." Theo nodded adrenaline pumping through his veins before Ron threw him up and using his magic Theo did managed to harden the ice into a smooth substance. His sticky charm was working again and he climbed up to the top and was on his hands and knees trying to calm his heartbeat. "You okay" Ron asked patting his shoulder as he got up.

"Yeah… I'm good" Theo breathed before straightening up. Both of them let their wands slip from their sleeves into their hands and making sure their hoods were pulled up to protect their heads they clipped them shut in the front before climbing the ledges a bit until getting to flat ground.

They stopped when they saw two death eaters "These gits have no idea we're here; on three Theo." Theo nodded and the two of them aimed just right "One… Two… Three" and simultaneously they wordlessly fired spells that struck to the two death eaters. Two spurts of blood shot from their bodies before the death eaters fell to the ground dead. Quickly they moved up and with a wave of their wands they buried the two death eaters in snow and left their bodies to freeze.

Ron peered around the corner and saw no one and signaled Theo to move up with him, but quickly moved behind a rock when two death eaters landed in a wisp of smoke. "I got this" Ron whispered. One death eater had his back turned to them and the other didn't as they talked to each other. Sneakily he moved up until he killed the one facing them with a spell to the neck crushing the vital area.

The other death eater turned only to get tackled by Ron to the ground. It was a brief struggled before Ron silenced him. Theo ran up to see Ron pull a knife from the Death Eater's neck "Since when do you have a knife" he asked curiously.

"Ever since I realized my wand could be taken at a moment's notice" Ron said blankly. This was his first time actually killing someone without magic. In fact this was his first time killing anything and to his shock it wasn't that bothering… he passed it off as them being death eaters and deserving of death for what they were doing. "Up the ledge" he pointed and the two of them jumped in a wisp of red smoke and landed on the ledge.

Going to the very edge they couldn't see anything "The blizzard's picking back up again" Theo noticed.

"Thermo" Ron said tapping his temple with his wand. Opening his eyes they were now a blank white color, but his vision was now able to see through the blizzard and he saw many groups of death eaters in the blizzard and he could see a few giants as well. Dismissing his spell he breathed "There's a lot of them out there."

"What are we supposed to do" Theo asked.

Ron thought on it for a few seconds "Well the majority of them are in that large space; both of us will take one side and mark delayed explosive spells all around the area until we meet up in the middle. Once there we'll fly off and detonate the explosives. We might not get them all, but we'll get most of them."

Theo nodded "Alright I get what you mean; I'll take the left and you take the right." Ron nodded and they got ready to jump down. "We'll be ghosts in this blizzard" and with a smirk Theo slid down the snow and headed for the left while Ron slid down and headed for the right.

Before they disappeared into the blizzard Ron called out to him "Keep an eye out for wind change; the giants have very good sense of smells." Theo nodded and with that the two of them disappeared into the blizzard.

Ron moved to the right once more using his thermo spell to keep an eye out to make sure he didn't get too close and if he did have to get close he was going to make sure it was it was a small group that was nowhere near a giant.

As he moved on he pressed his wand to the ground "Moram Expulso" he whispered. The ground around there glowed purple before he moved on. Still moving around stealthily he saw the wind change direction and blow to the right. Turning to his right he saw a giant right there; quickly he leaped to the side and swerved over to the right so that his scent wouldn't be caught by the giant.

Looking up he saw two death eaters making their way right towards him until they were less than five feet from him. "Hey" one of them said spotting him, but was silenced when Ron threw his knife and it nailed the death eater in the neck. Ron quickly jumped onto the other one and knocked his wand aside, but in the process dropped his own.

While the other death eater choked and gagged on his own blood in silence Ron and the other death eater continued wrestling around in silence until they rolled over the still downed Death Eater and Ron snagged the dagger from the throat and stabbed the second death eater in the chest.

Ignoring the blood Ron got up looked for his wand "Lumos" he whispered. To his amazement a small light appeared next to him. Since his wand was white in color it would be hard to spot in the snow if he dropped it. Thankfully he could still light the tip of his wand if he dropped it. Picking up his wand he continued.

He laid traps all over the place until he and Theo met up again. "Any trouble" Ron asked.

"I got a little gash on my arm, but I'm okay" Theo said showing his left arm that was bleeding slightly.

Ron nodded "We'll patch that up in a bit; for now let's get out of this blizzard." The two of them flew off in wisps of red smoke and landed on a ledge away from the soon to be ground zero.

"What now" Theo asked.

"This" Ron smirked pointing his wand at the center "Bombarda Maxima." The blasting hex flew from his wand and hit the center of the area and hit one of their laid traps. Suddenly the entire area exploded in a sea of explosions and fire. They could see the bodies of death eaters flying from the explosions before landing in the snow and even see the limbs of a few giants. "Mission accomplished" and with that the two of them flew off again.

SCENE CHANGE

In Diagon Alley Fred and George were living out their dreams; they had finally managed to open their Joke Shop and it had been only open for a couple weeks and already threatened to put Zonko's out of business. They were now successful business men, had their own place and had all the money they could ever want.

Yet they felt so depressed right now.

And for good reason; once they learned about their little brother. Instead of being a lonely angry boy he was now the leader of a mercenary group that was officially Number 2 on Voldemort's hit list. Their little brother; the one they bullied, picked on and put down all the time… was better than them in every single way.

Fred felt especially bad; he knew of the two of them he was always the more vicious one and if he hadn't convinced George that siding with Harry was a good idea than he didn't know if George would've done it or not as he looked hesitant when it was brought up. He loved his baby brother, but for a while now he had not shown it or proven it.

Looking at each other their resolve was clear; they didn't know where Ron was now, but before his next year at school they were going to find him and beg for his forgiveness if that's what it took.

SCENE CHANGE

Sirius was downing another cup of coffee; he had barely gotten any sleep the past few weeks what with the relentless amount of order meetings that he only paid a half assed amount of attention to because most of the time it all centered back to Ron's organization known as the Dragon's Garrison.

Sirius smiled proudly as he thought of Ron; the red head really was like him. If Sirius was in Ron's same position and he couldn't help his friend then he'd do it anyway he could. Sure it may not have been his idea to form this Garrison, but it was his choice to lead it and he was. He was leading better than Dumbledore was at the moment.

Not to mention Sirius discovered a new vindictive side to him when he saw all the people who turned against Ron looking very uncomfortable. He saw Dumbledore looking very regretful and upset, he saw Molly looking like she would burst into tears any moment and it didn't bother him at all. He also saw Moody looking like he had just swallowed the sourest lemon in the world. He knew that what happened especially pissed Moody off because he always prided himself on being a good judge of character.

'Not anymore' Sirius thought smirking slightly. Still despite all the vindictiveness Sirius began to feel something else… pity, pity for all the fools who turned their backs on Ron. Especially for Remus; Tonks didn't believe in turning on Ron when Remus did and they had been at odds ever since especially when they're relationship had been so good. Now Remus was looking worse than ever, his hair was almost completely grey and began to turn white, he was looking even older and after the last full moon he had more scars than ever on his body.

Despite being mad at Remus for being the instigator for what happened Sirius couldn't find himself to stay mad at Remus especially seeing him looking weaker and weaker. It looks like he had given up on life itself.

Sirius decided to be the bigger man since it appeared that Remus was too ashamed to come talk to him and hopefully everything could be settled.

SCENE CHANGE

Harry, despite being back at Privet Dr. after spending a day with Sirius at Grimmauld Place for the summer, was doing unusually well. The day he got to spend in the library with Ginny was quite enlightening. The two of them spent the whole time pouring over the books in Sirius's library; there were so many spells and enchantments in there and Harry knew he couldn't read them all so he wrote most of them down for later studying.

But the most shocking part was how much Harry had bonded with Ginny. He had never really gotten to know Ginny that much beforehand and was quite happy he got to know her now. While looking through the books they had also exchanged some stories. Harry told of the time he and Ron went to face Malfoy in a Midnight Duel back in their First Year as well as all the tricks they pulled on Snape in their Third Year after Harry got the Marauder's Map.

Ginny shared with him some stories of when she was a kid. She shared with him the time she almost drowned in the lake if it wasn't for Ron saving her as well as all the times he took the pranks from Fred and George so they wouldn't prank her.

It all came back to one thing; Ron was a major component in both of their lives. He was Harry's best friend and Ginny's favorite brother and right now they were far in his shadow.

Is this what Ron felt all the time when he was with Harry and Hermione? Feeling like he was constantly in the shadow of brilliant, talented and famous friends; if this was what it felt like then Harry felt a whole new wave of sympathy for Ron. Now Harry Potter, the famous Boy-Who-Lived, was in the shadow of his even more famous friend Ronald Weasley, Leader of the freedom group known as the Dragon's Garrison.

Harry had lots of work to do so when the time finally came the two of them could stand side by side as equals… and as friends.

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flames will be ignored.


	8. Chapter 8

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter Eight)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

July 17th, 1996

A group of Death Eaters were marching their way through a forest "Damn it; why are we the ones doing the grunt work" one of them said angrily.

"Quit complaining Gibbons" another one said. "Would you rather be the poor prat's who have to tame the acromantula's?"

Gibbons shuddered slightly "Point taken mate, but still why do we have to go to the slums of England and take get some stupid package. Shite like that is Greyback's job?"

"Greyback is getting ready for the Ollivander heist" the other Death Eater said. "Now keep an eye out; those brats could be sneaking up on us?"

"If I see those brats I swear I'll tear the boys in half and let Greyback have the girls for himself" Gibbons practically spat. Because of this group, the Dragon's Garrison, he had been reduced to doing grunt work and not to mention the Dark Lord was angrier and angrier these days.

As they blasted apart a brush and continued through they didn't notice the river behind them shift slightly. Out of the water the soaked figures of Ron and Daphne slowly emerged. "Blaise you hear all that" Ron asked sticking his wand to his mark.

"Loud and clear; Tracey and I are on our way to Diagon Alley to intercept the Death Eaters" Blaise said through the mark. It was another benefit of the mark they all had; they could communicate through the mark by pressing their wands to it.

"Roger; Theo will be on standby" Ron said before taking his wand off his arm. Turning to Daphne he said "The Cargo's not far from here; we'll follow along the trail and pick off any stragglers that we meet."

"Right" Daphne said as they both hopped out of the river and casting an instant drying spell on themselves. With that they moved on quickly; according to Tracey's Intel the Death Eaters were all the way north of the island of the United Kingdom awaiting a special cargo being shipped by some contacts of Voldemort in Norway.

It amazed them that Voldemort had contacts that far away, but right now they couldn't worry about that. According to Tracey the cargo was an immeasurably powerful magical item. She didn't know what it was only that if the Death Eaters failed to retrieve it and were still alive then Voldemort would make them… 'Wish they were dead.'

Which, to them, meant that they had to stop Voldemort from getting it at all costs. So with that they moved silently through Scotland's heavy forests. Daphne used her wind magic to move the heavier parts aside; it's also to make sure that that to anyone else in the forest it was just a breeze of wind.

Quickly jumping behind a tree as they saw two death eaters pass by. Looking out Ron saw there were no others in sight. Signaling to Daphne he made a motion across his throat and she understood. Silently they both took aim and whispered "Deprimo."

The spell hit both Death Eater in the necks and there was an audible snapping sound. Both fell to the ground dead and quickly they grabbed the bodies and threw them into the forest.

Continuing on their path led them to an incline. Ron climbed up first and looked around "We're good" he whispered and Daphne climbed up as well. "Point me" Ron said holding his wand flat in his hand. His wand spun before pointing southwest of their position. "This way" he said.

As they continued moving on Ron wondered idly if this is what Harry felt like when he was in the Maze during the Third Task because bobbing in and around trees watching out for anything sneaking up on you sucked. Once more they ended up moving through the thick and dense forests before Ron's wand went limp in his hand.

"We must be here then" Daphne said. They peered out the trees and their eyes widened in horror. There was a small Scottish Village there… and it was near destroyed. There were bodies of wizards, witches and even some children all over the place. Survivors were there, they could see them tied up in the Town Square with Dementor's all around them looming ominously. Hearing Ron growl next to her Daphne grabbed his arm calming him down "Losing your head won't do them any good; we need to be calm."

"Yeah" Ron said breathing in deeply. It was hard keeping his nerves and anger in check seeing all these poor dead people. Looking around he saw the Death Eaters coming into the area carrying a large case in their arms before depositing it on the ground.

"That must be the package" Daphne said; he nodded "What do you want to do?"

Ron looked around "I'll sneak around and get behind them; when I give the signal I want you to cast the most powerful Patronus you can conjure." Daphne nodded and watched as Ron scurried off down another path. He hastily scrambled through thick brushes before hiding back to a building. He peaked around the corner and he caught the eye of a woman in her thirties. He placed his finger over his lips and she got the message.

He moved quickly throughout the back of the houses, noticing that most of them were quite small before he managed to clear the Death Eaters and Dementors without getting caught. Looking around Ron raised his wand high into the air "Periculum" he whispered.

A large amount of red sparks flew through the air "Damn it, we missed one" one Death Eater shouted having seen the red sparks "Go and find whoever did that."

Daphne saw the sparks and knew that was the signal; she had been searching for a happy memory and then found one, it was her standing with her family and… Ron by her side. "Expecto Patronum" she roared. Her Patronus, a large Welsh Green Dragon, burst from her wand and roared into the village. The Dementor's never stood a chance and all of them got blown away.

"IT'S THE GARRISON" one Death Eater shouted before Ron jumped out from behind a house and began firing spells as fast as he could. Two death eaters were knocked out before they could even blink and the rest turned and fired at Ron. He hastily erected a large shield to protect not only himself, but the trapped townspeople.

However they seemed to completely forget about Daphne and got a harsh reminder when a large blast of wind from her sent them all flying they bounced off Ron's shield or the houses and landed unconscious. Ron dismissed his shield as Daphne ran up to him "Are you okay" she asked concerned.

"I'm fine" Ron said. He turned to the Townspeople who were all staring at them in awe "Relashio Maxima" he called waving his wand in a large arc. All the bindings on the townspeople came off and they were freed.

An old man came up and approached them "Thank you so much young man, young lady, you saved us from these mercenaries."

Ron was quite humble "There's no need to thank us; I'm just sorry we couldn't arrive earlier." He looked at all the bodies of the dead townspeople.

Daphne saw his regretful face and touched his arm gently "We'll stay and bury the dead; it's the least we can do."

The old man smiled more with tears coming to his eyes "Thank you again" he said gratefully.

After tying up the Death Eaters, breaking their wands and casting Anti-Apparating Jinx's on their bodies Ron and Daphne went about helping the townspeople bury the dead. They didn't use any magic and buried them properly, digging each and every grave and making every single grave marker all by hand. It took a lot longer, but it was for the innocent children and adults who lost their lives because of Voldemort's madness.

By the time the sun was setting behind the hills the last grave was filled and the last grave marker set. Once done the two sweaty and tired teenagers gave prayers to all the fallen. "Not many youngsters could handle the strain and weight of all those bodies" the same old man from before said to them softly. "You must be members of the famous Dragon's Garrison that I've heard about."

Ron nodded "Yes sir; I'm Ron Weasley, Leader of the Garrison."

"And I'm Daphne Greengrass, Second-In-Command of the Garrison" Daphne said.

The old man smiled "It does my old heart joy to see that the next generation is stepping out of the shadow of darkness instead of standing blindly. We will remember your names forever." Both of them smiled and bowed their heads to the older man.

"Father" a much younger man said walking up to them. "What shall we do with them?" He pointed to the tied up Death Eaters.

"We'll deal with them" Ron said. "Daphne, get ready to head back; I'm going to check out the cargo they were trying to transport."

"Alright" Daphne said as she went over to the Death Eaters. Ron went over to the box that the Death Eaters were surrounding earlier. He waved his wand and all the locks came undone and he opened it up, but was not prepared for what he saw.

It was a sword; it was an English broadsword with a blue and golden handle with a curved blue and gold guard with their being a cross on the blade with a long shining silver blade with intricate markings on the end of the blade. Next to it was a blue, gold and red sheath that had similar markings on it.

Ron picked the blade and sheath up 'Why would Voldemort be after a sword' he thought.

"Ron, I'm ready to go" Daphne called. Ron nodded and sheathed the blade and took it with him with Daphne, who had the Death Eaters, and together they disappeared in a wisp of red smoke. As they vanished they heard the cheers from the village they saved.

It was nighttime when they landed outside Daphne's house. Ron tapped his wand to his mark "Blaise do you hear me" he called.

"I hear you Ron, are you two okay" Blaise asked.

"We're fine; how are you guys" Ron asked.

"I got hit by a curse in the arm and Tracey got some injuries from Greyback, but Theo fixed us up pretty quickly" Blaise said. "We killed two of them, but Greyback managed to escape."

"As long as you're all okay; come on back, me and Daphne got a big find here" Ron said before cutting the communication. It took only a moment for the rest of them to get back. Tracey was limping slightly and was being supported by Theo; Blaise conjured stone chairs for them to sit down in.

"What's this big find that you two got" Blaise asked curiously.

Ron pulled the sword out from underneath his cloak. "This was the cargo the Death Eaters were escorting. They were using a small village as a base for the moment. We brought back a couple of them for interrogation."

Theo examined the sword "I know there are many magical artifacts, but a sword doesn't ring any bells to me."

"Well, whatever power it has Voldemort really wanted it" Tracey said remembering her Intel.

Daphne quickly went to one of the captured Death Eaters "Legilimens" she called out and dove into the Death Eater's mind. The other four waited patiently for Daphne to come out of the Death Eater's minds. About fifteen minutes later she finally did and she looked incredibly shocked. "Obliviate" she immediately bellowed wiping their minds.

"Daphne" Ron said surprised at her abruptness before she suddenly grabbed the Death eaters and vanished in a pop. The four of them blinked and stared at each other surprised 'That's not a good sign' they all thought before Daphne came back.

"What's wrong" Tracey immediately asked. Daphne almost never lost her cool and when she did it meant that she learned something really shocking.

"I know what that is" Daphne said in shock looking at the sword in Ron's hands. "It's the Golden Sword of the Victorious, the Sword in the Stone that chooses the King, one of the most powerful holy swords of legend… Caliburn."

All of them widened their eyes and gasped in shock staring at the sword. Despite them being pure-blood witches and wizards they knew the story of King Arthur and the legend. "B-But that's impossible" Theo said shocked. "Caliburn was destroyed… over 1400 years ago."

"Apparently not" Blaise said sarcastically even though he too was incredibly shocked.

"That's not all though" Daphne said getting their attention. "Voldemort had some backup plans. Voldemort is currently sending a Battalion of Death Eaters to France to retrieve the Holy sword of the French Hero Roland known as Durendal. He's also sending a group into Northern Ireland to retrieve the famed Irish Treasure Blade Caladbolg. And finally he's also sending three battalions of Death Eaters into Norway where they are currently on route to collect the ultimate holy demonic sword, Gram."

"Son of a bitch" Ron cursed vehemently. "If Caliburn was just one on his list; if he had all three of those legendary blades… no one could oppose him. We've got to move quickly."

"What are your orders" Theo asked immediately ready for action.

Ron thought quickly "I'll set you all up so we can communicate freely; after that, Blaise I want you to head to Northern Ireland and retrieve Caladbolg."

"Understood" Blaise said as Ron placed his wand on Blaise's head muttering a spell under his breath before removing his wand. Blaise immediately took off in a wisp of red smoke.

He turned to Theo "Theo since you still have more energy than Tracey I'm sending you to Norway to retrieve Gram."

"I got you" Theo said as Ron performed the same spell and Theo took off heading for Norway.

Ron finally turned to Tracey and Daphne "I know you both are tired so I'm sending the two of you together to France to retrieve Durendal. You two up for it?"

"No problem" Tracey said standing up with no sign of the previous limp she had. Ron nodded and performed the spell on both of them.

Before they could go Ron grabbed Daphne's hand "Be careful" he whispered softly to her.

She smiled and gripped his hand "We will." With that the two girls flew off in red smoke. Ron saw all of his Garrison disappear into the distance. He quickly jumped into a thick tree, pulled his hood up and held his wand in both hands. "Sensus Transmissio" he said. Using the spell he transmitted his thoughts to all of his Garrison members and could hear their thoughts and send his own thoughts to them. It was another version of Legilimens only instead of invading the mind of your enemy you spread your own mind out into the others you cast a communication spell on.

WITH BLAISE

Since Ireland was the closest spot to where they were Blaise was the first one to get to his intended location. Since he was still in the United Kingdom it wasn't too hard to figure out where Death Eaters were gathering. Blaise flew through the skies of Northern Ireland looking down until he spotted something out of the ordinary.

Casting an Invisibility Charm on himself Blaise landed quietly and watched as ten Death Eaters opened up a cavern in some old ruins before a couple of them went in. The rest of the Death Eaters stayed outside keeping watch.

Blaise smirked 'Relics won't be the only things buried here soon' he thought. Blaise pressed his wand to the ground and suddenly the ground underneath the Death Eaters outside were sucked into the ground and only had enough time to unleash small screams before they ground closed up. Blaise flicked his wand and the earth shifted slightly; he had to make sure they couldn't get out otherwise he'd be caught. With that Blaise ran over to the side of the entrance to the cavern and stayed hidden to the side waiting until the last two Death Eaters came out.

He didn't have to wait long, about 5 minutes later both of them came out and saw the others weren't there "Stupefy" Blaise blasted both of them and they fell to the ground with their package falling from their grasp and onto the grass. Blaise sank one of them into the ground before turning to the other one 'I'm not as good as Daphne, but…' "Legilimens" he said delving into one of their minds.

He did a big of searching to find out where the others would be going and soon he found the answer 'Ron' he called mentally.

"I hear you Blaise" Ron said telepathically. "Did you secure the package?"

'I've got it; I'm heading back now' Blaise said. 'Tell Daphne and Tracey that the Death Eaters are heading to Rocamadour in South-West France.'

"I got it Blaise; I'll relay the information now" Ron said before going silent. Blaise turned to the package and he picked it up. Right then he decided that the Irish could make nice blades; the entire blade was spiral with the handle being the same color as Caliburn's, being striking blue and shining gold. Blaise waved his wand over the sword and it vanished to be kept safe.

With that Blaise buried the last Death Eater into the Earth and flew off back to Britain.

WITH DAPHNE AND TRACEY

The two of them were flying over the English Channel when Ron's message came in "Blaise has secured Caladbolg and he's informed me that the Death Eaters are heading to Rocamadour in South-West France. That's where Durendal is."

'Alright, we're heading there now' Tracey reported back. Suddenly there was a blast of green light that flew past them and hit the ocean.

'Damn it, the Death Eaters are onto us' Daphne told Ron.

"Keep calm; just outmaneuver them" Ron said in a calm tone. "As long as you get to land you'll both be fine."

'Easy for you to say' they both thought privately, but knew he was right. The two of them could only keep flying and try to outmaneuver the Death Eaters. "Daphne, go higher, I'll go lower" Tracey called before zooming down close to the water. Daphne flew upwards and the Death Eater's split up each of them going after them.

Tracey flew over the ocean only a foot away from touching the water swerving from side to side to avoid the spells from the Death Eaters before she completely dove into the water. She looked up through the water and saw the Death Eaters firing spells into the spot where she landed.

She was far enough under to where the water stopped them before she manipulated the water. Tendrils of water shot up and snagged the Death Eaters and pulled them under. Tracey froze their limbs and had the water suck them down into the abyss.

Meanwhile Daphne continued soaring through the air avoiding the curses before turning and swiping her hand through the air launching a wind blade at the Death Eaters. Most dodged, but one was hit and fell into the ocean. Daphne brought up a shield to prevent herself from being hit before she sharply turned around and shot at the Death Eaters flying spiral-like creating a large wind drill. The remaining Death Eaters were knocked off course and fell too close to the water, which allowed Tracey to grab them with the water and sink them.

When they were free they managed to get to land. More like climb out of the ocean to avoid being spotted by the muggles on the docks. Once on land they hastily cast drying spells on themselves and hastily began their search.

"Daphne" Tracey called. Daphne ran over, both of them ignoring the looks they were getting from the muggles because of their clothing choice. Tracey was pointing to a tourist poster that showed a sword imbedded in a cliff side; they couldn't read any word of it, but the one word that stood out was 'Durendal.' "It's a lead" Tracey said.

Daphne shook her head "No, that's just a replica for tourists. Look at all the rusts here" she pointed at the picture of the sword on the poster. "A real holy sword has such magical power that it would by untouched by time. It wouldn't rust."

Tracey cursed "Then what can we do" she asked rhetorically. A shadow flew over them; they looked up and saw small barely visible black wisps of smoke flying through the air farther into town "Never mind" she said before they ran into an alleyway before they took off in wisps of red smoke and followed the Death Eaters.

They followed them discreetly north until landing in the barren fields of Centre, one of the twenty-seven fields of France, right outside of Paris. Hiding behind a boulder they peered outwards and saw the Death Eaters muttering to themselves before one blasted a hole in the ground. All the Death Eaters then jumped into the ground.

Both girls quickly ran out and peered downwards seeing nothing, but darkness before Daphne jumped down first and landed with a thump on her feet. Tracey followed and landed next to her; they couldn't see a thing.

"Lumos" they whispered with their wands lightning up. They saw they were in a tunnel of some sorts; spending a minute to look around they began moving forward. "What is this place" Tracey whispered, but even though she whispered it sounded almost like she was shouting. That's how quiet it was.

"I don't know" Daphne said whispering as well. "I didn't even know France had anything underground like this… except for the Catacombs." They kept moving silently practically jumping at every single sound they heard or made. It's understandable that they were a bit jittery; they were underground in a tunnel with who knows what down there with them and the Death Eaters were down there with them.

Finally they came to a split off in the tunnel; each one of them split off in about ten different directions "Which way" Tracey whispered.

Daphne looked around before closing her eyes. A small wind began to pick up before Daphne sent the wind down each route; it was a new trick she made up. With her eyes closed and using the wind she couldn't exactly see anything, but she could feel from farther distances whenever the wind met resistance and she could feel whatever the wind was touching.

Soon she came to a stop "This way, hurry" she said grabbing Tracey's hand and racing down the hallway third from the right.

"What's wrong" Tracey asked as they hastily moved through the tunnels.

"I could feel the Death Eaters; they were down the tunnels on the left; no doubt they felt the wind and are going to be rushing back" Daphne informed her. "We've got about five minutes."

"Then why are we rushing down here" Tracey asked.

"I felt something with the wind; I couldn't quite ascertain it as the Death Eaters started coming back, but it was definitely something" Daphne told her. They continued rushing down the tunnel as fast as they could until they began to hear rapid footsteps from behind them. Increasing their pace even further they ducked under a low opening before Tracey spotted an opening in the wall to her right. Grabbing Daphne she pulled her in just in time. Hiding against the wall they heard the rapid footsteps of the Death Eaters rush past them.

Breathing a sigh of relief they looked around with their wands before noticing a glint in the wall. Moving over to it they saw it was a glint of pure gold and clear crystal. They began digging at the spot pulling the chunks of earth out of the way before they were able to grasp, what appeared to be, a handle.

They pulled and pulled until they freed whatever was from the earth. It was covered in mud and grime. Pointing her wand at it Daphne muttered "Evanesco" and all the dirt and grime vanished. Tracey held a light over the spot and both of them widened their eyes when they saw what it was.

It was a sword; a beautifully crafted broadsword with a black handle with gold at the bottom with a crystal in the center. The extending prongs of the sword were gold in color with black designs on it and the blade was long, elegant and a shining sharp silver color. At the base of the blade was one single word:

Durendal

"This is it" Tracey said in awe as she picked up the sword. "But how?"

Daphne too was shocked before speaking "The tunnels" she said getting a confused look from her best friend. "The tunnels underground; the legend of Roland dictates that Roland died with Durendal underneath him, maybe that's not totally accurate. Maybe he knew people would be after the holy sword so he built these tunnels underground all throughout France and the moment he died Durendal would sink into the ground and be hidden safe underground where no one would have a chance at finding it."

The two of them looked back at the holy sword before they heard "Hurry up; I can see a light down there" from a Death Eater. Quickly they grabbed onto each other and disappeared with a pop right before the Death Eater's burst into the room.

Apparating back to Rocamadour they began flying back across the English Channel 'We've got the Sword Ron' Daphne reported.

'Did you guys get hurt' he asked quickly. When Daphne responded negatively he sighed with relief 'That's good; Blaise is already back and Theo should be in Norway soon.'

'Roger; we're almost back' Daphne said as she and Tracy flew back into the United Kingdom.

WITH THEO

Theo was having rather easy time as he flew East of England until he landed in the rugged fields of Stavanger. Once he landed Theo took cover in a large tree and looked around into the sky looking for any chance of Voldemort's Death Eaters. Since they always flew through the sky as wisps of black smoke it wasn't that hard to spot them especially in this remote place where they wouldn't bother being invisible.

A moment later he spotted a band of them flying through the air and after waiting a moment for them to move on a bit before he flew off after them making sure to keep his distance. He followed them until he came to a mountain where the Death Eaters were waiting for something.

Soon enough he saw some people, looked like mountain people to him, walking up carrying a large coffin-like thing between them. It apparently took all four of them to carry it before they presented it to the Death Eaters. Theo couldn't hear what they were saying, but it sounded like the Death Eaters promised them something, but refused in the end. The mountain people attacked and in a burst of green light they were killed.

Theo sneered at the death eaters before looking around hastily; spotting a lake he smirked. Waving his arms towards the lake he used his magic to bring the water under his control. The death eaters never saw it coming as Theo had the lake come to life, snatch them off the rocks and dragged them down to the bottom.

Knowing that the death eaters were skilled and that at least two would make it out of there alive Theo jumped down and ran to the coffin. "Bombarda" he bellowed waving his wand. The coffin blew open and sitting on a tablet was a golden handled broadsword with intricate designs at the base of the blade.

Grabbing the blade Theo looked at the churning water before he took off in a burst of red smoke heading back for England. His mission was complete.

TWO HOURS LATER

The others were sitting in Daphne's backyard waiting for Theo when he flew in getting their attention. Once he landed he immediately found himself with Tracey in his arms "You took so long, are you hurt" she asked worriedly.

"I'm fine" Theo said reassuringly. After making sure everyone was okay they stared at the four holy swords they had accumulated "Now what?"

"Voldemort went to great lengths if he wanted to acquire such powerful items" Blaise said. "These aren't items we can just leave lying around." Looking to Ron he asked "What do you think?"

Ron stroked his chin for a moment before he spoke "We'll keep them" he said. The others were silent "If Voldemort wanted them so badly… then why not use them against him."

"Are you sure" Tracey asked with a contemplative look on her face.

Ron nodded "Yes, these are powerful items and with them under our control our chances of winning just increased."

"Okay… who gets which one though" Blaise asked.

"There's five of us and four of them; someone will have to go without" Theo rationalized.

"That's easy" Ron said calmly "I'll go without."

His garrison blinked at him "What" they all echoed.

Ron grinned "I may not look it, but I know I'm the strongest of the five of us. If anyone will have a chance at getting far without one it'll be me. You guys can decide who gets which one; I'll be fine." He was being honest too; he had already gotten powerful with training alone. He didn't need a magical sword to protect his garrison when he could give them to his garrison for them to protect themselves.

They looked at Ron for a moment longer before looking back to the swords; Blaise finally went first and picked up Caladbolg and with a wave of his wand it vanished, now kept safe with him. Then Tracey and Theo went up; Theo picked up Gram while Tracey picked up Durendal. Following Blaise's example they waved their wands putting the swords to safety. Which left Daphne with Caliburn; picking it up she looked at Ron once more who only smiled at her. With a wave of her wand Daphne stored Caliburn safely to be used at a later date.

With that the Garrison went to bed.

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flames will be ignored.


	9. Chapter 9

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter Nine)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

August 29th, 1996

The sound of clanging filled the backyard of the Greengrass manor. It was Theo and Daphne sparring against each other using their swords Gram and Caliburn. "Keep your feet moving" Ron advised from a distance as they continued to fight.

Getting used to using swords was not an easy task, well for most of them it wasn't easy. Only Blaise seemed to have a talent for sword fighting. He picked up all the maneuvers of sword play very easily even though his sword, the spiral sword Caladbolg, was particularly hard to use.

Ron knew a bit about sword play as he remembered seeing his brothers… former brother's sword fighting with sticks when he was younger one time. So he offered the best advice he could to everyone as they continued to fight. That wasn't all that he was doing though.

He was also hunting throughout the entire country with Tracey for any and all history concerning the holy swords that they had acquired. So far they had found information on Caladbolg and Durendal. Caladbolg, also known as the Hard Sword in the old Welsh Language, is said to be able to slice off the entire tops of hills and slaughter an entire host in a single hit. Durendal was blessed with unnatural hardness as it retained the ability known as 'Three Miracles.' What that meant was that even if the wielder was exhausted of magic the blade would remain indestructible and retain its sharpness, but it would only happen three times.

So far they hadn't found anything on Gram or Caliburn, which was kind of surprising since Caliburn was famous in British Mythology.

Theo and Daphne fell to the ground exhausted having spent close to six hours sparring with heavy swords. Getting up Ron walked over before helping Daphne up before giving his hand to Theo. Theo accepted the hand and got pulled up "Not bad; you guys are getting better."

"This… is a lot more difficult than I thought" Theo said wiping his forehead.

"Are you sure the use of swords will be practical" Daphne asked as he helped her steady.

Ron nodded immediately "With what I'm working on; it will come in handy so much."

Both Garrison members gave him looks "What are you working on" Theo asked.

Ron didn't answer as he looked up "It's a secret; you guys have to trust me on this." Both Garrison members gave him looks before simply nodding and accepting his judgment. "Anyway you should head back and get some rest Theo; you'll need tomorrow to recuperate since the New Year begins soon."

"Right, thanks" Theo said and with a goodbye to both of them he vanished in a puff of smoke. All of them had learnt to Apparate in their spare time, but still preferred to fly off in red smoke as they didn't want any of their parents to know they were doing underage apparition since it was illegal.

"Another summer gone" Ron said once he and Daphne were inside. He sighed looking out the window at the dark clouds "The days are growing darker; the war's going to get worse."

Daphne stood next to him and also stared out "The war has been coming ever since that day I talked to you up in the Astronomy Tower." She gently took his hand "And it's because of you… that we'll make it through this war." Ron increased his grip on Daphne's hand and smiled at her.

SCENE CHANGE

Voldemort screamed in fury "Crucio" upon five death eaters. All of them were screaming and squealing at the top of their lungs in absolute agony writhing upon the ground like bugs. Voldemort was absolutely furious; the Dragon's Garrison had stood up to him, they fought him and survived, they were killing his contacts and followers, thwarting his plans and to make it worse they had stolen the mightiest magical blades that still existed in this world.

Voldemort didn't want to resort to anything other than magic to destroy some brats, but he had no choice as this ragtag band of brats were proving to be a nuisance. He needed them dead now.

He only knew two of them by name; Ronald Weasley, the Leader of this group and the youngest son of the Blood-Traitor Weasley Clan and Theodore Nott, the only son of one of his most prominent Death Eaters. Voldemort was especially displeased when he heard this and took most of his anger out on Nott.

It made him feel sad, angry and disappointed that five outstanding, beautiful and talented pureblood witches and wizards would stand against him instead of stand with him. Blood traitors to the highest degree they were. Honestly they were almost a bigger nuisance than Harry Potter was.

Voldemort swore that one way or another he would have their corpses by his feet before this war was over.

SCENE CHANGE

Harry sat alone in the room that he used to share with Ron whenever he came over to the Burrow. Dumbledore had come to collect him just last night and used him to help and old colleague of his come back to teach; a man named Horace Slughorn. Harry knew his fame would get come in handy someday, but he still hated it and especially hated it when all Slughorn kept doing was raving about the Dragon's Garrison and how they were the bravest group on Earth.

Harry wasn't envious, just mad that everyone kept reminding him of his lost best friend. Harry hadn't seen or spoke to Ron properly since the incident at the end of Fourth Year and he hated it. He wanted his best friend back.

So he kept training and training in magic and physical ability so he wouldn't be helpless and thank to Sirius' help he was doing it. He no longer looked like a scrawny weakling and now looked like a strapping young man and his magical prowess had risen as well. When his Hogwarts Letters came he was happy as he got Outstanding in DADA, Charms and Transfiguration with an EE in Potions, Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures, an A in Astronomy, a P in Divination and a D in History of Magic.

He was disappointed in his Potions grade because it meant he couldn't take it to become and Auror, but he'd find some other way to make it work. For now he got ready for his sixth year at school.

SCENE CHANGE

The next day at Greengrass Manor Nicholas and Cynthia watched as Ron, Daphne and Astoria finished their last minute packing to head back for their Sixth and Fourth Year respectfully. Honestly the two parents had never seen their daughters so lively and active.

Ever since Ron came around and trained their oldest daughter and friends to fight against the Dark Forces Daphne had simply flourished. Before she had always been a quiet kind of girl who didn't interact much, but ever since Ron came in her life she had turned a complete 180. She talked a lot more, she interacted a lot more and she seemed so much happier than she had ever been.

The two of them looked at Ron to see him crack some kind of joke that made the two sisters laugh with Daphne's head falling on his shoulder. They had seen something similar when both of their O.W.L. results arrived. Daphne had done amazingly and got an O in DADA, Potions, Arithmancy and Ancient Runes with an EE in Charms, Transfiguration and Astronomy and an A in History of Magic and Herbology. She had been so happy she jumped into Ron's arms hugging the red head tightly.

So tightly that she missed his red face, but they sure didn't.

It was even funnier when Ron opened his results and got an O in DADA, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures with an EE in Potions and a P in History of Magic and Divination.

He was so shocked he didn't know how to react until he was hugged again by Daphne. Once he realized this he hugged her back and twirled her through the air in happiness. It wasn't just that moment, but all summer they had noticed Daphne sneak looks at Ron when she thought no one had noticed.

Even though both teenagers might not fully realize it yet the parents did. Nicholas and Cynthia knew right away that their daughter had fallen in love with Ron and they could see why. He was a good leader, he was kind, he was charismatic, he was smart and most importantly… he showed Daphne what true freedom was. The freedom to fight back, the freedom to make your own choices and the freedom to be who you wish to be.

That was probably the main reason she fell in love with him; Ron had rescued her, and her friends, from being the slaves of Voldemort. He prevented them from becoming drones to follow his bidding and made them all free.

As the two parents looked at them they turned to each other and smiled before holding each other's hand remembering when they first fell in love. They approved of Daphne's choice, but that didn't mean they were going to wait.

"Having fun in here" Cynthia said walking into the room.

"Mother" Daphne said surprised.

Cynthia smiled at them before addressing Ron "Ron, Nicholas would like to speak to you in his study." Ron rose and eyebrow confused at this "Upstairs, down the hall, first door on your right." Ron nodded and stood up before heading upstairs; following Cynthia's directions he knocked on the door.

"Come in" he heard. Ron opened the door and walked inside to see Nicholas sitting in a chair beside a lit fireplace keeping the room warm and for good reason. The summer days had been getting colder.

"You wanted to speak to me sir" Ron asked.

Nicholas nodded "First thing; haven't I told you to call me Nicholas." Ron blushed and rubbed the back of his head making the Greengrass Patriarch smile slightly. "Take a seat" he indicated to the chair across from him. Ron took a seat in the chair across from Nicholas; he had a nervous look about him. "No need to look so nervous; you're not in trouble."

"Sorry" Ron said "It's just… you've been like a second father to me. Sitting across from you like this… I can't help, but feel nervous."

Nicholas' smile brightened when he heard what Ron said "And you've been like the son I never had. Anyway I just wanted to thank you Ron."

"Thank me" he said confused.

"I want to thank you for all you've done for my daughter" Nicholas said. Ron blinked still looking confused "Before you came along Daphne was a quiet girl who was very reclusive. Tracey was her only friend her whole life until she got acquainted with Blaise and Theodore when she was thirteen. Then you came along and in less than a few months you've completely turned her around. She's become more open, she's become more talkative and honestly… I've never seen her happier." Ron was quiet as Nicholas said his piece "Ronald… I may be stepping out of line as Daphne's father, but I must know… how do you feel towards my daughter?"

Ron went slightly wide eyed and his ears and cheeks burned red "O-Oh… um… I…" he stuttered nervously.

"It's okay; I promise you can be honest" Nicholas said gently.

Ron was quiet as he contemplated what Nicholas said; what did he feel for Daphne? He thought she was an amazing girl; she was cool, confident, and smart, she never lost her cool and always remained calm. She was teasingly playful, but not to the point it made someone mad. She also loved to push herself to get stronger and she was very protective of her little sister, something Ron could relate to. Her smile was also one of the most, if not the most, beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Looking up he saw Nicholas waiting patiently and so Ron decided to answer honestly "The way I feel towards her… it's a feeling I can't describe in words, but I'll try. She believed in me when no one else would, she stood up for me when people doubted me and she admires me more than anyone. How can I not feel anything for a woman like that? I was drowning in my own despair when my family betrayed me and even though she was using me at first for her own needs I didn't care. I didn't care because she gave a purpose again. I want to spend as much time as I can around her and I want to be by her side always to believe in her like she believed in me. I… I love her."

After his confession both of them were silent; Ron sitting there with a red face, steady eyes and pounding heart while Nicholas sat there stone face with his fingers crossed. Then his expression turned into a smile "For not being able to describe it in words you described very well." Ron's blush got brighter and he muttered under his breath making Nicholas chuckle. He stood up and patted Ron on the shoulder "My daughter has never shown any interest in any boy until you came along so from one man to another… please, take care of my daughter."

Ron's eyes widened as he stared at Nicholas; nothing more had to be said. Nothing more needed to be said, the message was completely clear "You have my word" he responded.

Little did both men know that Daphne had heard everything.

NEXT DAY

The family, plus Ron, were heading through King's Cross Station heading to Platform 9 ¾ and Ron noticed Daphne determined to avoid looking at him. He also began to notice that her cheeks were very pink, borderline red in color 'She's not getting sick is she; term hasn't even started yet' he thought worriedly.

Once crossing the barrier they got their things loaded onto the platform "Have a great time at school darlings" she said to her daughters kissing them both on the cheek.

"Good luck Ron" Nicholas said shaking hands with the red head.

"Thank you" the boy smiled before the three of them got on the train. Astoria gave both Daphne and Ron a quick hug before running off to sit with her own friends while Daphne and Ron found an empty compartment and sat down. Yet for some reason it was rather tense "Daphne, you alright" he asked concerned when he noticed she wasn't looking at him.

Her face went brighter; honestly with what she heard last night she didn't know how to react. She had definitely begun to feel something for Ron and it only strengthened the more time she spent with him. When her father asked to see him yesterday she was curious and snuck upstairs to listen in when her mother had left. When she heard what Ron said her eyes widened, her heart skipped a few beats and she felt her face burn.

To hear him speak so passionately about her especially about how she had given him a purpose in life again… it was a feeling that made her heart swell with affection. "Daphne" Ron spoke again breaking her from her thoughts. He was looking more concerned "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes" she finally answered. Looking up her emerald green eyes met his sapphire blue eyes before she spoke "Ron… do you like me" she asked.

Ron blinked "Of course I like you; you're a great friend."

"That's not what I meant" she asked her eyes practically boring into his skull. Ron felt like he was put under the Legilimency Spell as her sparkling eyes stared into his. "Do you like me more than a friend?"

For the first time since he met Daphne Ron felt a sense of panic 'Oh Merlin, did she hear everything yesterday' he thought sweating slightly. Looking at her he saw that she was awaiting his reply with her face calm, her eyes shining and her cheeks pink.

Wow she had never looked so cute before now.

Rubbing his hair Ron sighed a bit before looking at her in the eye honestly "Yeah… I do" he said truthfully. "I don't know when I did, but it happened; I love you Daphne Greengrass, I always will." When she didn't say anything or move Ron looked down and got up heading for the door "I'll sit somewhere else" he said quietly about to open the door.

He felt Daphne's hands grab his arm "Ron" she said softly turning his head. Ron gasped when he felt Daphne's lips on his own. Discreetly Daphne waved her hand and the curtains to their compartment closed and the door locked before she wrapped her arms around him.

Shocked at first Ron finally reacted and put his arms around Daphne until he fell to his seat pulling Daphne with him where she landed on his lap. His arms remained locked firmly around her waist while one of her hands remained on his cheek while the other one roamed through his long thick red hair.

After what felt like an eternity, which in reality was just two and a half minutes, they pulled apart looking at each other with flushed faces. Daphne finally spoke "I inherited my manipulation abilities from my father, now I'm glad it runs in the family" she said before kissing him again.

Ron laughed internally at what she said, but just held her softly in his arms the rest of the ride to Hogwarts.

SCENE CHANGE

By the time they arrived at Hogwarts it was nighttime and was raining, which was quite odd; it hadn't rained at the start of term since their third year. Once they got to a carriage to take them up it wasn't long until they were joined by Theo, Tracey and Blaise.

They noticed all three of them looked particularly displeased "What's wrong with you three" Daphne asked.

"The new teacher" Theo said with a displeased look. "Horace Slughorn!"

Daphne groaned slightly while Ron looked confused "Horace Slughorn?"

Tracey informed him "Horace Slughorn was an old Teacher at Hogwarts almost twenty years ago. I learned from my mum who he was. He was the old Potions Master of the School who liked to surround himself with students whom he thought would make it high into Wizard Society and became friends with them. In return he had many connections to them and through him they would get many connections into the Ministry to get a high paying job."

"So he's a mooch basically" Ron summarized.

"Pretty much" Blaise grunted.

"So what did he call you guys in for" Ron asked. Blaise explained that he was called in because of his connection to their Garrison and because of his mother. They knew the story of his mother about how she was a very beautiful witch, who had been married seven times with all of her husband's dying mysteriously leaving her with many riches. They were nice enough to never mention it. Tracey was called in because of her past connections to her mother and brother as well as her connection to the Garrison. It turned out Tracey's mother, Jackeline Fawley, before she married Tracey's father, Thomas Davis, was a witch who was blessed with an amazing talent for Alchemy when she took it in her Sixth and Seventh Year. Tracey's older brother, Ashton, inherited his mother's alchemy skills and was expanding his study abroad in Norway, but when he was in school he was one of Slughorn's favorites. As for Theo he was called in strictly for being a garrison member as Slughorn had mention that his father was also one of Slughorn's favorites, but was disavowed when Slughorn found out his connection to the Death Eaters. Slughorn didn't say it that way, but that was the underline message.

"He tried contacting the two of you as well" Theo said. "He was most interested in you two."

"Of course he would be" Tracey said. "Daphne's family is the richest in all of England and she's second-in-command of the Garrison. Meanwhile Ron's the Leader; he's the most influential student in the entire school right behind Potter."

"Was Harry there as well" Ron found himself asking.

Blaise nodded "Yeah, him and your sister along with Granger." Ron's upper lip twitched slightly at hearing the name of his former love interest. "None of them looked too thrilled although I've noticed that Potter and your sister have gotten quite cozy with each other."

"Blaise" Tracey hissed at him.

Ron just laughed a bit "That's good" he said getting confused looks. "What, Ginny can take care of herself. Besides if I can trust anyone to treat her right, it would be Harry." The rest of the ride was spent with idle chitchat until they got to the castle where they took their seats at their table. Ron made sure to sit away from almost everyone else while his Garrison sat together ignoring the glares from their other housemates. It was quite obvious that everyone knew who they were as they were all getting stares.

When the feast was almost over Dumbledore did his usual addressing of the students and welcomed the new staff member, Horace Slughorn as Potions Master while Snape would take over as the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher. Only the Slytherins looked particularly pleased with this decision. Snape was looking especially proud of himself right now.

The message from Dumbledore wasn't exactly cheery as it informed them that Dark Forces attempted to penetrate the castle and that the students were the only defense. It was ominous and reality-inducing. Ron briefly made eye contact with his Garrison and the message between them all was clear.

They needed to step their training up 110%.

When the feast was over everyone went up to their common rooms; Ron was the first one into his room and once there he hastily shut his curtains not wanting to talk with anyone. Instead Ron hastily went to bed awaiting tomorrow.

Come tomorrow morning at breakfast Ron received his schedule from Professor McGonagall and saw his schedule. He was confused "Excuse me Professor" he said catching her before she walked off. "I was told I needed an Outstanding in Potions to continue to N.E.W.T. level."

"So you did, when Professor Snape was teaching" McGonagall told him calmly. "However Professor Slughorn is perfectly happy accepting N.E.W.T. students with Exceeds Expectations."

"Oh… brilliant" was all Ron could say before gathering his things and walking off.

"Mr. Weasley" McGonagall called before he could disappear out of the Great Hall. "Would you kindly inform Ms. Greengrass, Ms. Davis, Mr. Zabini and Mr. Nott that Professor Dumbledore would like to speak to all of you during your first free period? The password's lemon drop."

Ron frowned slightly, but nodded "Sure" he said before walking off. He looked at his schedule and saw that, ironically, he had Potions first. When he got there he saw a couple students already there along with Professor Slughorn.

"Ah if it isn't Mr. Weasley" Slughorn said excitedly. Ron noticed one thing immediately about Professor Slughorn other than his balding head and short stature… and it was that his belly reached Ron before the rest of him did. "It's fantastic to meet you."

Nevertheless Ron smiled politely "Nice to meet you as well sir; I actually wished to speak with you real quick."

"Alright my boy; what is it" Slughorn asked with a beaming smile.

"Well you see I didn't think I'd be able to take Potions this year so as a result I don't have any supplies" Ron admitted.

"Oh that's no problem; just take a book from the supply closet and I'll order the rest of your supplies for you" Slughorn said.

"That's very generous of you sir" Ron said with a polite incline of his head.

"It's no trouble at all especially for a young man like you who is risking everything for us all" Slughorn said. "Please, feel free to stop by next Friday; I'm hosting a dinner party."

"I'll think about it sir" Ron said politely before going over to a closet; he spotted two books left. One of them looking new and the other looked like it had been through a wolf's teeth as it was very worn out. Immediately he took the new looking one

It wasn't long until the rest of the students piled in and Ron spotted his Garrison in the class as well. They didn't have much time to talk as the class had soon begun. They were interrupted when Harry came in having the same problem as Ron before he got the old book that was left in the closet.

The lesson was fairly simple, introducing the class to new potions and their properties. They saw Veritaserum, Polyjuice Potion and Amortentia, the most powerful love potion ever. Finally Slughorn told them about a special potion that he had in a vile known as Felix Felicis, otherwise known as Liquid Luck as it was a luck potion. It was a tricky potion to make and disastrous should it be brewed wrong, but the one who did drink it would find all of his endeavors would succeed.

The thought of that sounded too good to be true and would come in handy. Ron looked at the tiny vial of golden potion with want; he and his garrison could use something like that in the future if in a tight spot.

It got better when Slughorn told them that whoever brewed the best Draught of Living Death Potion would get a tiny vial of Felix Felicis that would last twelve hours. He didn't expect anyone to make a perfect one, just the best out of the bunch, but nevertheless the challenge was on.

The brewing commenced and everyone went to work right away. Ron's skill in Potions had advanced thanks to help from Daphne, who was an expert at Potion brewing, so he felt a lot more confident than he usually would. Looking over at Daphne he saw she was as cool as a morning breeze with a calm face brewing her potion calmly.

Shockingly he also saw Harry brewing calmly as well, which kind of surprised him as Harry was never that good at potions either yet he was working so calmly going through his book easily. Slughorn walked around all the students assessing the potions; sometimes he grimaced, sometimes he smiled, and sometimes he was neutral faced. Rarely he would pass by a potion and beam at them; when he passed Ron's potion he gave a larger smile than he did to others, a beaming smile to Hermione when he saw her potion. His face lit into a radiant smile when he saw Daphne's Potion, but when he stopped by Harry's Potion he was positively ecstatic.

"Merlin's Beard… it's perfect" he gushed. "So perfect I'd dare say one drop would kill us all." Naturally Harry was the winner with a compliment like that and everyone watched as Slughorn handed him the vial of Felix Felicis with a warning to use it well.

"Of course Potter would get the potion" Theo said dryly as they exited.

"Honestly I'm surprised; Harry was hopeless in potions for as long as I've known him" Ron said.

"Maybe it's because he doesn't have Snape breathing down his neck anymore" Tracey offered making them all laugh.

"Oh yeah" Ron said seriously. "Dumbledore wants to see us in his office during free period."

"Oh joy" Blaise said wryly. The looks on the other's faces were less than thrilled as well, but they had no choice and followed Ron to Dumbledore's office.

It wasn't long until they got to the Gargoyle that led to Dumbledore's office "Lemon Drop" Ron said and the gargoyle sprang to life forming a staircase. The five of them climbed the staircase and once getting to the top Ron knocked on the door. The doors opened revealing Dumbledore waiting for them.

Dumbledore looked up and smiled "Welcome" he greeted them.

"Hello sir" Ron was the only one to greet him. The rest of the Garrison remained stone faced and silent; it's not like they didn't respect Dumbledore. They all respected him a great deal as a Wizard and Headmaster, but they didn't trust him. He was the most powerful Wizard in all of Britain; he could do anything, probably stop Voldemort singlehandedly, but he chose to do nothing. And that made them not trust him. "What did you need us for?"

Dumbledore assessed the five of them with his blue eyes boring into all of their eyes and the old wizard could tell that all five of them were very strong, not just physically, but mentally as well. It saddened Dumbledore that these children had no faith in the adults and had to rely on themselves to do what was right; it was saddening, but also inspiring.

Finally he spoke "We didn't have much time to speak last term about the actions of your group." He could practically feel all of them tense "There's no need to tense; I am not scolding or criticizing. As a matter of fact I want to congratulate you all."

Raising an eyebrow Ron looked at the rest of his Garrison, who looked as confused as him, before turning back to Dumbledore. "No offense sir, but being congratulated by a teacher for what we're doing is the last thing I expected."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled "Since when have I been like most teachers?" He got shrugs of acceptance from the boys while the girls rolled their eyes at them. "Anyway, I want to present to you five an opportunity."

"What kind of opportunity" Ron asked going immediately into Leader Mode.

"All summer you five have gallivanted across the country and even into other countries around central Europe to stop the Death Eater's and thwart Voldemort's plans" Dumbledore began. "The people know of you, they believe in you and they trust you. The reason why, is because you all fight back, you don't shirk away; you give the people hope so I'm offering you five an opportunity to keep that hope risen."

"How" Ron asked after a moment of silence.

Dumbledore stood up "I have a spy in Voldemort's inner circle who is closer to him than most. As soon as the information gets to me I can have it go to you and all of you can be excused from classes to do what you must do."

Ron was sure it wasn't just him who widened his eyes in shock and he was right. Around him all five of the Garrison had their eyes widened in absolute shock. In fact they were so shocked that they couldn't speak.

Dumbledore continued "All of the teachers have already been notified of this decision; all we wait for is your choice on the matter. The Dragon's Garrison is the only hope this land has for freedom." He looked Ron in the eye "As the Leader… this is your call Ronald."

Ron was quiet for a minute before stepping forward and turning to face his Garrison. Finally Theo spoke up "We're with you to the end Ron, no matter what end."

"He's right" Tracey agreed while Daphne and Blaise nodded in confirmation with equal looks of loyalty.

Ron smiled as he looked at them all before he turned back to Dumbledore "You got yourself a deal Headmaster" he said before shaking hands with Dumbledore.

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flame will be ignored.


	10. Chapter 10

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter Ten)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

October 12th, 1996

A little over a month had passed since the start of term had begun and members of the Dragon's Garrison had to leave class no less than three times a week. They ended up running all over Great Britain, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, but never once did they have to leave the island.

At most they left in groups of three while the others stayed behind near the lake waiting for a report for injuries, mission accomplished/failed or reinforcement. Theo was their only medic and he was very good at what he did so if he ever went on a mission it was in groups of three.

Tracey was their espionage solider so she was usually on groups of two with either Blaise or Ron since the two of them were the heavy hitters and the most powerful of the Garrison. They provided the power and she was the sneaky one who got them from behind before they knew what could happen.

Daphne was the interrogator and second-in-command so she was primarily on missions that Ron wasn't on as the people who stayed behind needed a leader as did the ones who went on a mission to give orders. Daphne was always the primary 'surprise strike' kind of person who struck first to disorient them and then she and her partner would go in and finish them off while they were confused.

Blaise was the muscle of the group easily so he was sent on the heavy strike missions where there was lots of action involved. Being the Dragon of the Earth he was like a brick wall, hard to bring down. He was primarily put with either Tracey or Daphne in missions. Only when it involved things other than Death Eaters were Ron and Blaise ever sent out together. They were happy that something like that hadn't happened yet.

Ron was the most well-balanced of them all as he could strike first to disorientate, sneak around with espionage, and hit heavily. Only with Ron could Theo ever go on a two man assignment because Ron could attack and defend with his fire abilities. He could be paired off with anybody if the situation called for it.

They were just happy right now that it wasn't anything big; nothing happened that required all five of them to go. That meant they could pick off Voldemort's followers in small groups. If a mission ever came up that required all five of them to go then they knew it was incredibly dangerous.

The fact that they were doing this and balancing N.E.W.T. studies was difficult. Their free periods were not spent relaxing; they were spent catching up and homework and doing vigorous studying. Right now Ron was busting his arse in Charms class, but thankfully he was a Charms Master so he was having no trouble. In fact he was so good at charms that Professor Flitwick even asked him to tutor some Seventh Year Students, SEVENTH YEAR.

Just as he finished writing down some notes on his parchment his wrist burned. Ron raised his hand "Professor" he called.

Flitwick nodded "I know Mr. Weasley, you may go."

"Thank you" Ron said hastily gathering his stuff and running out of the classroom. He missed the looks of the other students gave him as he ran out. Once all his stuff was put in his pack he ran to the courtyard where Dumbledore was waiting.

It was a special spell that Dumbledore put on Ron's right wrist opposite of his Dragon's Mark. It burned when Dumbledore called for him and Dumbledore would meet with Ron out in the Courtyard where he would give Ron the information. Once he did Ron would contact the Garrison and they'd meet down in front of the Black Lake where they'd discuss the mission and decide what to do.

"What's the assignment" Ron asked leader mode activated immediately.

Dumbledore was very serious as he spoke "I'm afraid Voldemort has gotten extremely bold… and desperate. He's not satisfied now with making disappearances or going after Harry. He's now going to attempt to take out the Heart of Britain itself and establish himself as the new ruler… like a God. Do you know what that means?"

Ron frowned for a second before his eyes widened in absolute horror "He's heading for her majesty's doorstep."

Dumbledore nodded "The royal family has long known about the magical world and has not interfered with it. Her majesty is very compassionate towards magic folk, but with Voldemort growing more powerful and bolder she has asked for assistance to ensure her and her family's safety. Are you up to it?"

"The chance to even meet her majesty is a chance that many people can only dream about" Ron said. "I would gladly risk my life to defend her and the royal family."

Dumbledore noticed the determination in Ron's eyes and smiled before placing his hand on Ron's shoulder "This mission will be long and dangerous. You will not be able to return for at least a month."

"I understand" Ron said.

Dumbledore nodded "Then good luck." Ron nodded once more before he took off heading for the Black Lake. Dropping his stuff at the shore Ron took his wand out and pressed it to his dragon mark. After that he took his Hogwarts robes off and his tie leaving him in only his white buttoned shirt and pants. Then he pulled out his cloak and strapped it on before stowing his wand in his pants and waiting for the others to show up.

He didn't have to wait long until the rest of them showed up "So what's the assignment for today" Theo asked.

The serious look on Ron's face was so serious that it was actually kind of scary "Voldemort's now after her majesty, the Queen of the United Kingdom herself."

That got him equally wide eyed looks from his dragons; he had the same look on his face when he first heard the news. "I knew he was insane, but damn" Tracey whispered shocked.

"Insane yes, but also intelligent" Blaise said. "It's a smart move in war; take out the leader of your enemy to demoralize them. If he assassinates her majesty then all the muggles will be completely demoralized and would turn a blind eye to anything he does and not to mention… they'll all be ripe for manipulation."

Theo nodded "Yes, Voldemort hates muggles and would not be above using them as fodder."

"Suit up all of you; this is a month long assignment" Ron said "It's going to take all five of us." They nodded and each of them ditched their Hogwarts robes and put on their cloaks. They gave the girls privacy to change their skirts while the boys just stayed in their shirts and pants.

Once they were all ready to go they took off in wisps of red smoke heading for Greater London… towards Buckingham Palace. It took about an hour of flying to get to Greater London all the way from Scotland, but they did and landed in an alleyway near Buckingham Palace.

Once there they made sure that everything magical was hidden before walking out of the alley and approaching the Palace Entrance. The guards were stationed in front of the Gate and had the stoniest faces they had ever seen. It made sense too, they had to keep their faces and expressions perfectly blank and monotonous so that they can strike when intruders least expect it.

"How exactly do we get in" Daphne asked.

"Yeah… never got that part" Ron admitted sheepishly getting astonished looks. He sighed "Just wait here" he said walking up to the gate in between the guards "Uh… hi" he said to them. They didn't even blink "I'm Ron Weasley… her majesty asked for protection… from the Death Eaters." Still they didn't blink; Ron turned around and showed them the insignia on his cloak "We're the Dragon's Garrison." Still they didn't blink or move "Oh for Merlin's sake" he grunted losing patience. Pulling his wand out he pointed it at them and muttered "Confundo."

The guard's eyes went glassy and they opened the gate for them; Ron signaled the rest of them to follow. They walked through and the gate's shut afterwards "Okay, why didn't you just do that in the first place" Blaise asked annoyed at the whole scene.

"I was trying to be polite" Ron grumped. Once getting to the doors they pushed them open and once entering they were amazed; it felt like the first time they entered the Hogwarts Great Hall. The inside was lush and lavish; paintings were on the walls and a massive grand staircase was presented to them as they stood staring in awe.

"So this is the group Dumbledore told me about" a voice spoke. All of them jumped and turned to their left only to widen their eyes when they saw an old woman with a kind, but firm face wearing a luxurious white long sleeved top and long white skirt with matching heels wearing a silver ruby encrusted crown on her head of white hair. There was a man next to her wearing a nice polo shirt and slacks with dress shoes. He was balding, but had dark grey hair with wise, firm features, but a kind look in his eyes.

Knowing they were before Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip all of them hastily sunk into a bow "Your majesty" all of them said in unison.

Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom, looked at the five adolescents that stood before her "Rise young ones" she said gently and they did and kept their eyes locked with the Queen. It was very hard to do as they were just children looking into the eyes of a wizened leader that had seen many things. It felt like having a stare down with Dumbledore "Which of you is the Leader?"

"That would be me your majesty" Ron said as smooth as he could. "Ron Weasley."

"Come closer; I'd like to have a look at you" the Queen said. Ron did walk forward until he stood about five feet from them. The Queen closed the distance and reached out with her hands and gently cupped his face. Her hands, though wrinkled, were very smooth. "One so young taking on the responsibilities of a King; times have surely changed."

Prince Phillip then spoke "Darling, shall we retire to the next room."

"Of course" Elizabeth said releasing Ron's face and linking arms with her husband "Follow young ones, there is much to talk about." Quietly and dutifully the Garrison followed the royals of Britain into another room. It was just as lavish as the main room; the Queen and husband took a seat on the couch. Noticing their nervousness Elizabeth smiled "You do not need our permission, you may sit as you please."

Slowly they all did and sat on another couch and chairs respectfully. Prince Phillip spoke "Might the rest of you introduce yourselves."

"Daphne Greengrass, your highness" Daphne said bowing her head.

"Theodore Nott" Theo murmured mimicking Daphne's action.

"Tracey Davis, your majesty" Tracey inclined her head.

"Blaise Zabini" Blaise finished off also bowing his head.

Prince Phillip gave them all a kind smile in return making them feel less tense "I assume that Dumbledore gave you the rundown Mr. Weasley?"

Ron nodded "Yes."

"Then I assume you know what to do" Phillip continued.

"I, and my garrison, will guard the royal family from any and all threats from Death Eaters and Voldemort so long as they continue to threaten the royal family. We are all willing to lay down our lives for all of you" Ron said perfectly maintaining eye contact the whole time.

Both monarchs smiled at him "In that case; how will you do it young man" the Queen asked.

A few minutes later they were all outside in the back of Buckingham Palace in the large fields with Ron looking over the environment. 'This place is huge; bigger than Hogwarts, we're going to need a lot of power.' "Tracey, Blaise; protection shield" he told them.

"Alright" they said before all three of them walked a few distances from each other and pulled out their wands before pointing them into the sky "Protego Maxima, Fianto Duri, Repello Inimicum" they all chanted in unison and continued to chant.

Out of their wands a steady stream of light shot out and high into the sky and began forming outwards making a large shield. The parts cast by Blaise and Tracey combined with Ron's part and together they completely covered the entirety of Buckingham Palace.

The Queen and her husband were amazed by the powerful magic that was just cast over the palace. "This shield will take someone of Voldemort's caliber to bring down, other than that anyone hostile that tries to cross this barrier will be disintegrated on contact" Ron told them.

"To take extra measures three of us will patrol the outside grounds every night to make sure there's no one lurking around who shouldn't be here" Daphne finished.

"I'll take the first shift with Theo and Blaise" Ron told them. "Daphne and Tracey, you two should go over emergency precautions with her majesty in case the shield is broken and we're invaded."

"Right" they said.

The palace guards, who knew of wizards when they were hired, were informed of the situation and helped the Garrison get used to the grounds and all of the secret entrances and escape routes. Currently Blaise out in the West and Northwest patrolling the grounds as that's where most of the concrete was and if things went south he would have an advantage.

Theo took the East and Northeast of the grounds as the fountains were located on that side for him to have easy access to water. The sky was already dark showing it would either start raining or snowing soon. So soon the whole ground would be advantageous for him.

Meanwhile Ron patrolled the entire South, Southeast and Southwest portion of the grounds since with his abilities he could do long and short distance combat. Plus with the stormy season coming in Ron would gain the advantage.

Meanwhile Tracey and Daphne were going over every inch of the Palace Grounds with the Queen and her husband getting use to every nook and cranny for the best chance of hiding and escaping. It took them only a day to get everything memorized and before they knew it the sun had set and it was dark outside.

Throughout the night Ron, Theo and Blaise patrolled the grounds and thankfully nothing happened and by the morning everything was fine. Blaise, Ron and Theo got some sleep while Daphne and Tracey patrolled during the daytime.

By nighttime the boys were awake again and the night patrol consisted of Ron, Daphne and Theo while Tracey and Blaise got some sleep. It was a little meticulous, but it was their assignment and they would perform it to the best of their task.

Three and a half weeks had passed and so far nothing had happened. They were approaching their last days at the Palace and so far things had been quiet; their shield hadn't been obstructed and no sight of Death Eaters had been reported.

The whole time they were there they were either spending time guarding the palace or entertaining the queen with stories of the Wizarding world or hearing stories of her time as queen. It kind of surprised Ron that someone of such royalty was very kind and humble, but had a firm hand. Most of the nobles in the Wizarding World he knew were snobs and looked down on others.

"Enjoying yourself" Daphne's voice rang. Ron looked up from his position on the bench outside in the fields of the palace. The queen was gracious enough to let them wander about anywhere outside the palace and inside except for certain areas, which were off limits. All of them accepted this and right now Ron was outside enjoying his time off.

"Immensely" Ron said smoothly before patting the area next to him. Daphne took the invitation and sat next to him and leaned against his shoulder. Ron and Daphne's relationship would be seen as complex to those who didn't know the story, but those who did found it easy. They didn't bother addressing themselves as boyfriend and girlfriend because they didn't just like each other, they loved each other. They just hadn't made it official yet and just enjoyed each other's company from time to time when they had the chance.

Daphne noticed something in Ron's hand "What's that" she asked curiously.

Ron looked down at his hands and blushed "N-Nothing much" he stammered.

Daphne snatched the object from his hand easily and revealed "A Sketchbook" she said surprised. "I didn't know you liked art."

"No one knows except you now" Ron admitted. "I liked to draw ever since I was a kid; before you guys it was the only thing I was ever good at." Daphne gave him a small kiss before flipping through the sketch book with her eyes widening more and more.

These drawings were… amazing to say the least. All the drawings in there were perfect down to the last detail. The best one, she thought, was a sketch he drew of the queen and her husband out back in the gardens enjoying the flowers. The expressions that he drew showed a couple who still loved each other so immensely like they were still in their teens.

"Ron… these are spectacular" she breathed.

Ron blushed a bit "Thank you."

"When did you learn to draw like this" she asked flipping through more sketches.

"I taught myself and I just drew whatever I looked at" Ron answered honestly. "You can't really draw anything in the towns or cities; there's too many people wandering about. Backgrounds and the occasional lonely person on a bench is what I do mostly. The first picture I ever drew fully was the Burrow from top to bottom when I was five. I still consider it my best drawing ever."

Saying that just made him think of his former family back when they still were a family. He had a melancholic said look on his face; something Daphne didn't like. Closing his sketchbook she put it on his lap and took his hand gently "Ron; I can't imagine what you're feeling. I can't even begin to contemplate it and I'm not asking you to forgive and forget, but I do strongly advise you to move on and put it behind you."

"Yeah" he agreed softly. "It's hard though."

Daphne tried something else, something extremely bold "Then think of us as your new family." He looked at her shocked "Me, the Garrison, my parents and sister… we're your new family and we'll never leave you. I'll never leave you because Ron… it was you who saved me. You saved us from a horrible fate and more importantly you showed me what true freedom was like. The ability to be who you want, act how you want… and love who you want."

"Daphne" he whispered softly before leaning in and kissing her with all the passion he could release. "I'm poor, I haven't got a penny to my name, but if you'll have me… then I will forever be yours."

"You could be richer than Malfoy or poorer than bums on the street… and I'd still love you" Daphne promised as she touched his cheek.

Grabbing her hand he said "You're right, I have to break free of my past. Daphne, I have no desire to pass on my old family name; I want to pass on your name instead. I want my children to be Greengrass"

Daphne gasped as her heart began pounding so hard it was audible "Ron" she breathed with her eyes shining.

"Daphne, we're young and stupid, but I think I'm making the smartest decision of my life" he said standing up and pulling her up with him holding her hand. "Daphne Greengrass, if you'll have me, would you make me the happiest man in the world and become my wife?"

"Yes" she said with tears in her eyes. "Yes, yes, a million times yes." She jumped into his arms kissing him. Her arms wrapped around his neck and Ron's arms gripped her waist firmly.

In a room inside the palace the queen and her husband saw it all and couldn't stop smiling. Elizabeth sighed "Young love" she said in a dreamy voice. "You remember when we first met darling?"

"I felt like I had strayed into a dream" Phillip said with love as he stared his wife in the eye. He looked back at the young couple "Those kids are going to bring about change for the better; it's too bad that they're world is so corrupted in politicians."

Elizabeth looked back down at them with a thoughtful look "Yes… perhaps it's time for change."

Phillip looked at her "Darling" he said confused.

Elizabeth smiled "The future is always in motion darling; you never know what tomorrow could bring."

It was almost nighttime and Theo was out back looking around for any signs of activity. 'Still nothing, looks like Voldemort was too much of a coward or the Intel was off' he thought. Theo was about to head back inside when a muffled explosion got his attention. Turning around quickly his eyes scanned the area until he saw a burst of light hit the shield "Fuck me" he grunted feeling his adrenaline running. He pulled is wand out and gave it a wave; three loud 'bangs' filled the air.

Inside everyone heard it and knew it meant one thing 'They're here' they all thought. Quickly they all rushed outside and met with Theo only to see the shield getting bombarded by spells.

"Tracey, secure her majesty" Ron ordered. Tracey wordlessly flew off back into the mansion to get the queen and her husband to safety. "Everyone else… prepare for battle." In a flash all of their wands were in their hands as they watched the shield be bombarded.

Looking around they saw it was only the back that was being bombarded, which was good for them because of all the muggles that were on that side of the palace. The back was completely barren and the muggle houses were much farther away.

Tracy soon returned "Her majesty has been secured" she reported. "They're locked up in a passageway with every kind of barrier I know protecting them."

Ron nodded "Then let's get ready; I'll give us an advantage real quick." Looking up at the darkening sky Ron's fist lit up in flames before he launched a large blast of flames into the sky. They soared completely through the shield, not damaging it, before vanishing into the sky.

Everyone, except Blaise, looked at him confused before it suddenly began to get darker "I'm confused, what was that for" Tracey asked.

"He just gave himself and you two a serious advantage" Blaise said to Tracey and Theo.

"What, how" Theo asked.

"Intense heat sent up into the atmosphere like that will cause the ambient temperature to rise rapidly and create an ascending air current" Blaise informed them. "He used it to form an Accumulo Nimbus, in other words a thunder cloud. Not only will it create a massive storm for a while that will give you both plenty of water to manipulate, but it's given him an advantage as well. Now he doesn't have to use his own magic, instead he intends to take advantage of the enormous energy in the atmosphere, to create lightning magic."

Their eyes widened at sheer brilliant effect caused by such a simple action "What kind of magic" Theo dared to ask.

"Whichever it is it will be on a completely different scale from what anyone can create using magical creation alone" Daphne said quietly. Soon the sound of thunder roaring got all of their attention as they looked up to see lightning dancing in the clouds before rain began to fall.

In less than a minute everyone was soaked to the bone with the falling rain while the shield continued to be bombarded. Even though the shield was powerful and would take lots of power to break the Garrison stood ready in case the shield did break. These Death Eaters were powerful, but it looked like all of them together couldn't break through the barrier.

Until all of a sudden there was a loud yell before suddenly a single large spell hit the shield. Slowly they saw the shield begin to disintegrate and through the rain they could see Voldemort giving them a nasty smirk. Their hearts leaped into their throats as they stared at the advancing Death Eaters.

"Steady, steady" Ron called to them as they held their wands up. Then the spells from the Death Eaters were launched and sheer chaos erupted. Soon spells and shouts erupted all across Buckingham Palace and bodies began to drop.

Ron wasn't focusing on anything and anyone; all he kept doing was firing at anything in black wearing a mask. Theo was manipulating the rain and turned it to ice before freezing Death Eaters to the ground. That was when Tracey swooped in and with a wave of her wand to each one of them in a blink of an eye they were all taken out. Making more ice on the ground the two water users skated along the ice to increase their speed.

Blaise was using the earth to his advantage trapping any Death Eater near him that was dumb enough to land near him as well as using it to his defense. Ducking a spell he growled and suddenly his body morphed into a large black panther. Running about with his speed increased Blaise clawed his way through Death Eater after Death Eater suffering his own amount of damage on the way, but nothing that could keep him down.

Daphne was frantically using her power of wind to defend herself while launching curses at the other Death Eaters. With the power of the wind she could flow from left to right and dodged expertly, which actually caused some of the Death Eaters to hit their own comrades.

Ron himself was just launching spell after spell at any Death Eater he saw coupling with flame bombing a few of them. He didn't know how long he had been doing this, but he knew one thing for sure, he was getting tired.

What seemed like an eternity later, when in reality it was only an hour, did Ron finally notice that the rest of his Garrison was getting tired and there were still a lot of Death Eaters. "GET BACK" he roared to his Garrison. Heading his words all of them wisped off in red smoke and got some distance.

Ron quickly waved his arm towards the sky and a bolt of lightning shot down and struck his wand and essentially him. Ron grunted loudly in pain from the amount of power going through his body. It was something he had never felt before; it felt like his body was about to burst apart from the amount of power inside him.

Once he absorbed the lightning he managed to channel it to the fingers of his left hand and pointed them at all the Death Eaters, who appeared stunned at his action. It was too late as a large blast of lightning shot from his finger tips and enveloped the entire area.

The entire barrage lasted about 15 seconds before the lightning completely vanished leaving Ron to fall to his knees. Daphne hastily ran up to him as he began to fall and caught him before he hit the ground. Turning him over she held him in her arms and noticed his closed eyes.

Theo ran up and, upon seeing the rest of the Death Eaters were either dead, unconscious or fleeing, did a diagnostic spell on Ron. "He's okay, he's just exhausted" he informed them.

"Let's get him inside quickly" Daphne practically barked. Blaise came over and together he and Theo hefted Ron up and carried him back inside while Daphne and Tracey covered their backs in case there were more Death Eaters. Once inside they knew they were safe.

Watching them the whole time was Voldemort who was shaking in both fury and… fright. He had just sent 50 of his Death Eaters, some of them his more elite members, and all of them were defeated and forced to flee. The ones who fled would face his wrath, but still, to think five underage wizards could do all this.

The one who considered himself the most powerful wizard… felt the coward's chill crawl up his spine.

The Queen and her husband had been informed by a guard sent by the Garrison that the fight was over and they were clear to come out. When they did that met with the Garrison and were shocked at their condition.

They looked exhausted, beaten up and bludgeoned, but had the aura of victory. Blaise had numerous bruises and dirt all over him with a few bleeding cuts on him. He was cradling his left wrist and favoring his left side more indicating a right leg injury.

Theo had the same kind of bruises and dirt on him with a very long gash on his forehead that was still bleeding slightly along with a blackening eye. His clothes were torn and he seemed to have a gash on his right arm.

Tracey was pinching the bridge of her nose stemming some bleeding while holding a rag to it. She was also clutching her abdomen indicating she might have a few broken ribs or some other kind of injury along with having a lot of dirt and a large bruise on her.

Daphne was the least injured as she only had minor cuts and bruises with a tear in her shirt along her side, but no blood was spotted.

Ron was the only one not conscious with a lot of cuts and bruises on him, there was a gash going over his cheek and nose, but wasn't bleeding anymore along with a gouge in his left leg indicating a deep cut.

"Goodness children, are you alright" the Queen asked as she and her husband barreled over to them.

"A little beat up, but otherwise alright" Blaise answered wincing a bit as he stepped with his right leg.

"What's wrong with him" Prince Phillip asked indicating to Ron.

"He exhausted himself using a massive spell that got rid of the rest of the Death Eaters" Theo said running his wand over Ron's body. "Except for the gash on his leg he'll be just fine. A good night's rest and he'll be okay." Looking at Daphne to see her holding Ron's hand looking at him with adoration he snuck a small glance at Tracey before turning away. "Anyway, Blaise, Tracey, let me heal those up for you. We need to keep watch in case more come back."

"Right" Blaise said as Theo helped Tracey up supporting her with her around his shoulder and his arm gently around his waist. "Daphne, you better keep an eye on Ron in case he awakes."

"Got it" she said in a semi-distracted tone as she kept her eyes on Ron. With that the other three members of the Garrison stepped out of the room. Daphne managed to tear her eyes away from Ron and look at the two royals "I doubt they'll be back after this, but I suggest you keep extra guards outside your bedroom. We'll clean up the grounds in the morning."

The queen stared at the young girl in silence for a moment before she gently touched Daphne's wet dirty shoulder and smiled at her. "Take all the time you need darling." Daphne smiled slightly before turning her gaze back to Ron.

Linking arms with her husband the royal couple retired for the evening.

By morning the only evidence of a storm last night was the wet streets and windows. The entire Garrison was up and about gathering the bodies of the Death Eaters. After gathering up the bodies they put them into a big pile. With that Ron lit the bodies on fire burning them away into ashes. Once into ashes Daphne blew them off into the distance and Blaise, using his earth magic, turned the land back to normal making it look like there was never a battle in the first place.

Sighing a bit Ron looked around rubbing his forehead. "Despite the hard battle we've still got a mission to finish. Daphne take the north side, Theo, the east, Blaise the west and I'll take south. Tracey, you should rest; your ribs need more time to heal properly."

They all nodded and did as he said, but before they could leave the Queen addressed him; she had been outside watching them the whole time. "Before you do that; Mr. Weasley I would like to speak to you."

"As you wish your majesty" he said with a small bow. "Take five guys" he said before offering his arm to the queen. With a giggle and smile she took his arm and allowed him to escort her "What did you wish to speak to me about your majesty?"

"Not here; follow me to my private room. I will speak with you there" she said. Ron nodded and escorted the Queen, more like followed her, to her private room. It turns out the private room was a room in the wall that was opened up in a way Ron couldn't see.

Ron's only thought was 'Dad would love this.' He followed the Queen inside her special room before the door shut behind him. The room was surprisingly barren with only a couple chairs, a desk and a mirror.

"Come, sit" she said. Ron did and sat in the chair opposite the mirror and desk while the queen took the other one. "Mr. Weasley, do you mind if I call you Ron."

"Not at all your majesty, in fact I consider it an honor" Ron said feeling deeply honored that the queen wished to address him by his first name.

She smiled at him "Ron, do you know that the royal family has known of Wizard kind since the second century?" Ron didn't speak, but his eyes showed his surprise "Don't be so surprised; I am Queen of the United Kingdom. If it originates or happens in my country then I know about it."

Ron merely gave a nervous smile clearly feeling embarrassed about exposing his ignorance.

"Tell me Ronald, has your world ever had a single ruler" the Queen asked.

Ron shook his head "No your majesty. The Magical World has been controlled by a government for as long as I can remember. The Leader is the Minister of Magic, which is very similar to the Muggle Prime Minister from what I can recall."

"I see" the queen whispered. She then opened up the desk and pulled something out. She turned to Ron and showed it to him; Ron's eyes widened as he stared at a large gem that was in a necklace and was heart shaped. The gem was as red as blood "Do you know what this is Ron?"

"A ruby, your majesty" he guessed.

"It's an ultra-rare diamond known as the Heart of the Dragon" she informed him making him wide eyed. "Long ago, about 843 A.D. in the time of the Last King of Wizards –"

"King of Wizards" Ron interrupted wide eyed.

"Yes Ron, King of Wizards" she said with amusement at his reaction. He blushed for his actions and went silent "As I said, around 843 A.D. in the time of my 33rd Great grandfather Aethelwulf of Wessex, King of Britain, their lived another King. He was the King of all things magic, a powerful wizard, both strong and benevolent to all. He was known as King Luther, King of Wizards. As his title implies he was the King of the Wizarding world and kept all things magic together and prevented many wars and conflicts. I'm sure some of your kind still know of his existence."

Ron was silent as he absorbed what the queen had just told him.

She continued to speak "Aethelwulf described him as a 'Human Dragon' because of his immense strength, durability, resistance and magical prowess. His weakest spell could take out an entire legion and spells that could kill or cripple someone for life would barely make him flinch… or so I've read."

"Why are you telling me this your majesty" Ron asked. He was highly interested in the story, but confused as to why she was telling him this.

"I'll get to that" she stated calmly. She continued with her story "King Luther was recognized only by a single item he wore around his neck." She held up the item "The Heart of the Dragon; Aethelwulf wrote down that this was just a normal diamond until Luther slayed a now extinct breed of dragon and its blood and power infused with the gem and it was said to increase Luther's power."

"What happened to him" Ron asked.

"In the year 875, four years after by 32nd Great Grandfather, King Alfred the Great, ascended to the throne" the queen began. "I don't know the full details, but it was some kind of magical creature revolt where they tried to take over the magical and muggle world King Luther alone took them all on. By the next day the grounds were covered in the dead. Alfred found Luther, who was minutes away from dying. He had defeated them all, but at the cost of his own life. With his last breath he entrusted the Heart of the Dragon to Alfred and informed him to keep it secret and safe until such time when a wizard truly worthy of the title of King would appear and reclaim the throne."

Ron's eyes went so wide that they threatened to pop out of his skull when he understood the message. "Y-Yo-You can't be serious" he managed to stammer out.

The queen merely grabbed his hand and pressed the gem into his hand. After a few seconds in which her blush-grey eyes stared into his sky blue eyes before she pulled away. Ron looked down at his hand before opening his fingers and looking at the Heart of the Dragon, which seemed to glow very brightly.

"You have the heart of a dragon and the mind of a leader" the queen said making Ron look back up. "You are everything Luther was and you have a chance to be even better. The fact you can touch the Heart of the Dragon is proof of that. Become King Ronald, end the corruption of your world, revolutionize it and change it for the better."

Ron was silent as he turned his gaze from the queen down to the gem resting in his hand.

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flames will be ignored.


	11. Chapter 11

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter Eleven)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Three days later and it was almost time for the Garrison to go; they would be leaving in just a matter of hours, but they noticed the last three days had been very tense. Ron had barely spoken and he barely ate and each time someone asked him he just shrugged them off and gave a half-assed "I'm fine."

Finally Daphne lost patience and ambushed him before he could leave his room "I think we need to talk." Sighing a bit Ron stepped to the side allowing Daphne to enter before he closed the door. "You're in a funk, almost as bad as the one two years ago. What's the deal" she asked bluntly.

Ron didn't answer for a second before sighing a bit "Remember when the queen pulled me aside three days ago?" Daphne nodded and so Ron explained everything to her, everything that the queen told him and by the end Daphne had the same wide eyed look on her face that Ron had. "Yeah I had that same expression."

"Ron… yo-you're serious?" It was the first time Ron had ever heard Daphne stutter. Ron didn't answer and instead he reached into his pocket and withdrew the Heart of the Dragon making Daphne's wide eyes become even wider before she cupped his hand with both of hers. "What are you gonna do" she finally asked looking back up at him.

"What am I gonna do" he asked in disbelief. "Daphne, I'm not a King, I am a leader of a mercenary group. People I know would laugh at the very idea of me being a King, now if this was Harry, I would understand, the people would understand. How could the people trust me, a disowned son of the biggest clan of blood traitors this side of England all the way to god damn Russia. I'll tell you who'd believe it, crazy people."

He panted slightly after his rant "You feel better" Daphne asked.

"Loads" he finally said.

She smiled and then began to speak "Now allow me to dispel a few of those thoughts you have. 1st of all who says you're not a King. Ron, you exhibit all the qualities of a King. You're compassionate, you're strong, you're a great leader and you are willing to help people you don't know. Remember us, you didn't know us at all yet you agreed to help us. And a King doesn't turn his back on his people, you never turned your back on us. 2nd of all, stop thinking about Potter; what's he done to save the Wizarding world so far, nothing, that's what. He's been locked up who knows where at summer time and then living the school life at Hogwarts. What are you doing? You're out in the frontlines fighting, risking your life and saving people by the day. You even protected her majesty herself; the people look up to you and are seeing you as a beacon of hope. 3rd and finally, if people knew your background, they wouldn't blame you and you know it. They would scorn your former family for what they did for turning their backs on you. Now look me in the eye and tell me you don't have the makings of a King."

Ron was silent, but was unable to say anything; finally he sighed and hugged her tightly. She gripped him back just as tightly "How do you always know how to make me feel better" he murmured.

"That's because I know the real you" she whispered back. When they pulled back Ron looked at the Heart of the Dragon before he put it around his neck where it rested against his chest. It was heavy, but comforting; the moment he let go the Heart of the Dragon glowed a bright red color and then wind picked up around the entire room before it calmed down and the glow died away.

"I see you've embraced the Heart of the Dragon" the voice of the Queen said. The two turned to face the Queen "You have no more doubts."

Ron looked back at Daphne with a smile "Thanks to the words of someone… I've learned to just let go of my past."

The queen smiled at him "Then before you go, can you go down to the main hall; my husband has requested to speak with you."

"Of course" Ron said before departing; following down the hallway he went down the grand staircase and met with Prince Phillip "Your majesty" he greeted.

Prince Phillip greeted him in return and spotted the large diamond around his neck "I see my wife has gifted you the Heart of the Dragon." Ron nodded "That's good, I finally see what she was talking about. The world is always changing." Ron was quiet as the prince said this "I have something I want you to do for me; if you succeed then not only will your victory in this war be almost assured, but it will also cement you in the eyes of everyone that you are the one true King of Wizards."

Ron was still silent, but now he was more curious than ever and followed the husband of the queen down a hallway he had never been into before entering another room that had to have five guards dismissed from the prince before they could walk in.

Once they did and the two of them walked in the guards hastily shut the door behind them leaving the room to be dark. Phillip flipped a light on and when Ron could see properly his eyes widened; in front of him was a small/medium sized slab of rock, but imbued in the rock was a single sword. Its handle was royal blue in color with the guard being pure gold in the expanding upwards like angel wings.

"A sword" he said.

"Not just any sword" Phillip said with a small grin. "The Heart of the Dragon is proof that you are the rightful King, but to make you the ultimate King and a ruler acknowledged by everyone then I suggest you take a look at the blade."

Ron gave him a confused look before turning back to the blade and walking closer before crouching down and reading the inscription on the blade. Written in old fancy English, but still legible was one word "Excalibur" Ron whispered in astonishment.

"Yes" Phillip said having heard him. Walking up to him he spoke again "King Arthur is perhaps the most infamous King in all of the world; becoming King by pulling Caliburn from the stone, after losing the blade he acquired Excalibur from the legendary Lady of the Lake and ever since he could never be defeated."

"But… how" was all Ron could splutter. How many more shocking revelations was he going to go through?

"While it's true that Sir Bedivere returned the blade to the Lady of the Lake upon King Arthur's death it was said that the Lady of the Lake had a vision for the future" Phillip said pulling a book out of his jacket. He handed it to Ron "This was written by Merlin in the year 1078, twenty years after King Arthur's Death, given to King William the Conqueror."

(A/N: I know that Arthurian Legend goes back to the five and sixth century, but on Harry Potter wiki it says that Merlin was around during Hogwarts era, which was around 1000 A.D. so I'm going with this one.)

Ron opened the book and began reading 'The days grow darker; this bright country is not what it once was without Arthur around. Now it's just war after war, conflict after conflict; it's madness without the true king around. Arthur was the best thing that happened to this country since King Luther. But I see not all hope is lost for the Lady of the Lake has visited me in a dream and has given me a vision. A king will come in the future, one who carries the Heart of the Dragon and the Sword of the King; one who will bring about a new age. I cannot hold onto it forever so I will hide it in a place where none will think to look. With a little Confundus charm good ol' William the Conqueror and the royal family will house Excalibur until the one true heir of Excalibur returns.'

When Ron was done reading he looked up to Prince Phillip and stared in absolute shock. The old prince merely smiled "Go Ronald, become what you were born to be." Ron turned and looked at the legendary Excalibur stuck in the stone before walking up and grasping onto the handle. He was afraid to pull though "If you are worthy… then the sword will come out" Prince Phillip said in a comforting tone.

Ron's grip tightened around the blade before he tugged; to his astonishment the blade slid right out. Ron stared at the blade as it gave a brief golden glow before going back to normal as he held it in his hands.

"I never thought I'd live to see it" Prince Phillip breathed in astonishment. "The Sword of Promised Victory… has chosen its successor."

Four hours later the Garrison stood outside Buckingham Palace saying their goodbyes "We can never thank you enough for all you've done. Should you need anything else, please do not hesitate to ask" the queen said.

The five of them bowed "It's been an honor" they all said. Ron held eye contact with the Queen and her husband for a few seconds before he smiled. With that the five Garrison members flew off in wisps of red smoke heading back for Hogwarts.

After reporting to Dumbledore that the mission was a success Ron immediately went back to sleep in his own bed; he was physically and mentally exhausted from the fighting and the revelations. And the sad part was that he knew the fighting wouldn't end when the war ended and it scared him to think another war would break out.

He knew that soon that news would leak out that he had both Excalibur and the Heart of the Dragon. When that leaked out he knew he'd be an enemy of Voldemort and the Ministry. The Ministry was corrupted to the interior, very few who worked there weren't corrupt.

Looking at his wand Ron remembered when he read up about wand lore and he let out a sardonic chuckle. "I guess it's true; I am a revolutionist."

Death Eater activity was quiet after that and it gave them a good chance to catch up on schoolwork and focus on it for a little bit. On the rare occasion when they had time off they would meet down near the lake and spar with swords to keep their instincts sharp.

Yet as the next couple weeks went by Ron began to notice that Harry kept trying to get close to Slughorn, closer than anyone so far had bothered to. It made him suspicious as he had noticed Harry going to Dumbledore's office quite a bit ever since the year began.

Soon it was Christmas Break and Ron was heading back with Daphne to spend Christmas with her family. It was also where they would break the news to the family. Once back at Greengrass Manor Ron decided that it was now or never.

"Excuse me" he said to Nicholas as they entered the house.

"Yes, my boy, what is it" he asked.

Ron swallowed a lump of nervousness "I have already asked Daphne and she has said yes, but I wish to gain your blessings. I would like to marry your daughter."

Both Greengrass parents went wide eyed at what Ron said until it was broken by a loud squeal. Astoria had launched herself at both of them "I knew you two would end up together" she said with a grin hugging them both around the waist. The two could do nothing, but smile and hug the young fourteen year old back.

Nicholas and Cynthia shared a glance before peaking at Ron and Daphne; the way they looked at each other reminded them of when they first met. Nicholas finally spoke "Yes." They looked at him with wide eyes "I approve; I can think of no one better as my son-in-law."

The words registered in their minds and the first thing they did was hold each other tightly before Ron kissed her with as much passion as he could. Pulling back both of them smiled with dampening eyes "I love you" Ron whispered.

"I love you too" she whispered back before kissing him again.

Both parents felt their own tears gather in their eyes as they stared at the two adolescences before suddenly they remembered a very important factor. "Ron" Nicholas said getting his future son-in-law's attention "I hate to spoil your happiness, but technically you're both still underage as Daphne doesn't turn 17 until May and in order to marry underage you need permission… from both side's parents or guardians."

Ron's insides went cold as he knew what that meant; he'd have to get permission from his former parents since he was still technically under their rule. He turned to Daphne to see her with a similar look; their plan had been to inform her parents and then get married within a week after December as Daphne had told him she always wanted a winter wedding. "Ron" she said gently.

Ron racked his brain before coming up with a brilliant idea "Wait… I got it; the Emancipation Rite."

All the eyes in the room widened and for good reason; the Emancipation Rite was the wizard version of Emancipation in the Muggle World. Essentially it completely severed all ties of an underage witch or wizard from their families except for name, blood and magic and very rarely did the emancipated one and the family ever make up.

"Are you sure" Cynthia asked in a serious tone "You do know what that implies."

"My family ditched me two years ago; this is my way of breaking free" Ron said in a confident tone. "I will always bear the Weasley name, but it will just be a name only, there are no more familial ties."

Everyone stared at him silently for a moment before Nicholas finally spoke "Very well; we can take a trip down to the Ministry tomorrow, but… we will still need to inform your former family." Ron nodded softly; Nicholas nodded as well "Very well, you should get some rest."

"Thank you" Ron said before he headed upstairs to relax.

"Daphne, may I speak with you" Cynthia asked. Daphne nodded and followed her mother into another room where they sat down. "You truly love him don't you" she asked.

Daphne smiled "I do; I didn't know it would evolve this fast so soon. I mean, just last summer I had begun to feel something for him. He's so strong, so nice, so… beautiful." Her cheeks blushed a pretty pink and her eyes sparkled "We ended up confessing to each other not too long ago and just a few days ago he asked for my hand in marriage. His exact words were 'We're young and stupid, but I think I'm making the smartest decision of my life.' Then he proposed to me right on the spot."

Cynthia hugged her daughter smiling at the romantic moment "You take after me more than I thought." Daphne looked up at her mother confused "Your father was the Head Boy during my fifth year at Hogwarts. He was popular, good looking and all of the teacher's favorites and was guaranteed a bright future not only as the world's greatest clothing mogul, but also as the 39th Head of the Greengrass Family, one of the oldest, if not the oldest, Pureblood Family that existed. I was the only daughter of the Shafiq Family and one day Nicholas and I bumped each other in the hallway. It was love at first sight and only a month later we got permission from my parents to marry since Nicholas was already of age."

This was the first time Daphne had ever heard the story of how her parents got together. She couldn't believe she was ever nervous about telling them about herself and Ron.

"That's why I support you Daphne" Cynthia said softly stroking her daughter's blond hair. "I've raised you to be strong and do what you think is right. That's why we've never had to worry about you; if you're making this decision then you know it's right."

Daphne smiled as a few tears leaked from her eyes; she hugged her mother "I love you mom."

"I love you too sweetheart" Cynthia smiled kissing her daughter on the head.

A few hours later and it was pitch black outside; Ron was inside his room staring out at the darkness before looking down at the Heart of the Dragon around his neck before he heard a knock on his door. "Come in" he called. Daphne walked in through the door and the moment Ron saw her all his trepidation and worries just melted away.

She walked up to him and sat next to him "You look tense" she observed.

Ron sighed a bit "Once again you can read me like a book." He smiled though "The thought of seeing my old family again sets me on edge especially considering the news that we'll be bringing them."

Daphne looked at him "It's best not to stress yourself love; what do you normally do to relax?"

"Usually I just draw to calm myself down" Ron said looking over to his sketchbook that rested on the bed. Daphne grabbed his sketchbook before looking at the Heart of the Dragon.

"Can I see that" she asked pointing to the Heart of the Dragon. Ron looked at the gem before he took it off and handed it to Daphne; she held the gem in her hands before she put it around her own neck feeling it rest against her chest "It's heavy."

"I know" Ron said as he reached out and gently touched the gem resting on her breast. "But the first time I put it on… I felt its power."

Daphne looked down at the gem before she got an idea; she handed Ron his sketchbook "I'll help you to relax; I want you to draw me wearing the Heart of the Dragon."

Ron looked excited "Whoa, I've never drawn a person before; this should be fun."

Before he could open his sketchbook Daphne grabbed his hand and looked him in the eye with dark pink cheeks "Wearing ONLY the Heart of the Dragon." Ron's eyes widened and looked up at Daphne his cheeks burning hotly. She giggled at his look "I'll go get ready" and with that she departed.

Ron didn't know how long he spent sitting there until he hastily got up and set the bed up. Using a cloning spell he duplicated his pillows and set them up in a large pile to lean on and used a sticky charm to hold them in place so they wouldn't fall over, but still retain their fluffiness for maximum comfort. Quickly opening his sketchbook he pulled out his sketch pencil and, using a small knife that was in the sketchbook, sharpened it down to a fine point just as Daphne walked in. He looked up and saw her in a silky emerald robe.

She sauntered up to him swaying her hips as she went "The last thing I want is a picture of me as porcelain doll." She pulled out a few galleons and put them on the table next to Ron. "As a paying customer I expect to get what I want."

Then after that she disrobed with the emerald robe falling off her slender shoulders revealing her entire naked beauty to him with the Heart of the Dragon resting nicely on her pale skin. Ron tried really hard not to blush, but failed as he felt his cheeks burn, but he thought to himself that he had never seen a more beautiful sight.

"Over on the b-bed" he finally said pointing to the bed and mountains of pillows. She went over to the bed and sat her body on it "Lie down" he said in an almost seductive whisper. She did and laid herself against the mountain of pillows looking for a right way to lay. "No put your hand above your head like that; rest it on top of your head." She did, following his instructions "And brig your other arm to your face a bit… right there" he said as her hand just barely touched the side of her face near her forehead. "Head down a bit and eyes towards me." She was now in a perfect position "Now just try and stay perfectly still, eyes on me."

"Okay" she said and with that Ron began his drawing. Every now and then his eyes would peak up at her before going back to his sketchbook "So serious" she smiled seeing his look. He smiled a bit and wiped a strand of red hair behind his ear. Every time his eyes would look up to her Daphne felt her heart pound even harder. "I believe you're blushing Mr. Big Artiste" she teased seeing his ears turn very red. "As I recall Master Eadric Edelfelt doesn't blush."

"He does landscaping" Ron said dryly, but with humor in his tone. "Just relax your face a bit."

"Sorry" she said taking a deep breath and relaxing. He slowly continued his drawing taking in every last detail and after fifteen long minutes he was finished. He wrote down the date and his initials December 19th, 1996, R.W.! Daphne was up in her robes peering over his shoulder at the drawing. She was amazed; it almost felt like she was looking in a mirror.

"All for you" Ron smiled at her.

"It's perfect" she said before leaning down and kissing him. They didn't remember much after that as they were so tired and just fell into bed in each other's arms and passed out. By the next morning it was a little awkward as it was Cynthia who woke them up that morning.

"You may be engaged, but this family does not condone premarital sex" she said with a perfectly straight face before walking out leaving them both red faced and mortified.

After a silent breakfast in which no one made eye contact did Ron and Nicholas set out for the Ministry using the Floo Network to get there "The Emancipation Rite is very simple; all you must do is get the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to agree with your statements and after a quick signature I can perform the rite on you."

"Right" Ron nodded. It didn't take them long to see the new Head of the Department, as apparently Nicholas has much influence even though he doesn't like using it. They were there for all of five minutes before they were called in to see the Head of the Department. The man was slightly intimidating, but to this date the most intimidating man Ron had ever faced was Nicholas himself.

The man had long black hair, was tall and thin with a goatee with dark glaring blue eyes "What can I do for you today" Pius Thicknesse asked crossing his hands in front of his face.

Nicholas indicated discreetly for Ron to speak "Sir I wish to gain your permission to use the Emancipation Rite."

Pius narrowed his eyes slightly "Explain yourself young man." So Ron did and explained himself and told his story for what felt like the hundredth time. He explained his story from the start, leaving out certain parts as the ministry didn't need to know about the Order of the Phoenix. He finished by explaining how Nicholas was kind enough to take him and by the time he finished Pius' expression hadn't changed.

"That's it sir" Ron finished waiting with baited breath.

Pius finally spoke "You've given me something to think about. It's hard to think that a family like the Weasley's could do that to one another." Rubbing his forehead Pius contemplated the situation "Everything you've shown me is hard to believe though."

"You can give me Veritaserum or go through my mind with Legilimency if you don't believe me; I've got nothing to hide" Ron said honestly. Pius looked into Ron's eyes and his dark blue eyes met Ron's sky blue eyes.

Pius leaned back in his chair "I don't need a potion or a spell to see the truth; very well Mr. Weasley – no, Ronald. I hereby grant you Emancipation, you are a free man free from any underage obligation or laws."

"Thank you sir" Ron said with a bow of gratefulness.

"Mr. Greengrass, I take it you will perform the rite" Pius asked.

Nicholas nodded and pulled out his wand; Ron got on one knee facing Nicholas who reached out and touched the tip of his wand to Ron's forehead. "No longer are you bound, now you are free and found: Emancipatio" he called.

A bright red light encompassed Ron and it lasted for a few seconds before dying away and Ron stood up tall and proud. "How do you feel Ronald" Pius asked.

"Free" Ron replied. With their business done at the Ministry of Magic the two men headed off back for home, Ron's new home. He was going to need a lot of rest and preparation for when he went over to the Weasley's to break the news. After all, he could only imagine the chaos that was going to go down when everyone found out.

Sure enough December 23rd, 1996 is when they headed over to the Weasley House. They appeared in a loud snap indicating apparition. Dressed in clothes gifted to him by Daphne's father, handmade by him as well, Ron followed behind the two Greengrass parents to the Burrow. Even though Ron had emancipated himself he would always be tied to them by name, magic and blood; there was no spell that could erase that.

The whole family was there as well, even though Ron would be marrying into their family the Weasley's would still be their in-laws. Once getting up to the front Ron sighed in a deep breath and adjusted his collar to better hide the chain of the Heart of the Dragon before knocking.

When the door opened Ron was greeted by Ginny "Yes, can I he–" Ginny cut herself off with wide eyes when she spotted Ron. She hadn't gotten a good look at him for a long time now and she could see that he had changed a lot.

"Hey Gin" he smiled. He almost stumbled as Ginny jumped into his arms hugging him tightly. "Nice to see you."

"You too" she said quietly into his chest. After a second she pulled back with her eyes shining with small tears "It's good to see you again." Ron smiled at her before Ginny noticed the people behind him; she recognized Daphne from last year, but the others she didn't recognize.

"Would you mind if we came in" Ron asked making Ginny turn back to him. "I've got some rather… shocking news."

"Of course" Ginny said ushering them in. Once inside Ginny immediately noticed the similarities between Daphne and the two adults leading them to believe that they were her parents. This made her slightly nervous as she wondered what they would be here for. "I'll uh… I'll get everyone else."

Ron nodded "Please do" he said calmly. Ginny turned and left for the other room where everyone else was. When Ginny entered the other room she saw Sirius, Tonks and Remus all sitting together. Remus was looking a little better than he was before, but he still looked absolutely terrible with his hair almost completely white now. Tonks was sitting next to him holding his hand and rubbing his knuckles softly while Sirius sat next to them calmly sipping brandy from a glass. Things weren't as tense between them as it was before since they made up for the incident of the summer last year.

She saw her father sitting with Harry talking about something; she smiled a bit at that. Arthur was the only one in the family, besides her, who didn't betray Ron while the others had and Harry refused to abandon his best friend no matter what. Hers and Harry's relationship had improved since she was the only one he could talk to when he came over. There were even rumors going about at school that he was going to ask her out.

She spotted her mother and older brothers Fred and George next and resisted the urge to frown in both disappointment and pity. Fred and George had seen the error of their ways and now looked for a way to atone themselves for betraying their baby brother, but had yet to find the chance to. Her mother was still coming to terms that her youngest son, who had never shown any extraordinary magical talent, was the leader of a magical group that was putting Voldemort in his place. For a long time she thought Ron would never amount to anything special and would live and average life as an average/below average wizard, but now she was forced to see the error of her ways and didn't know how to fully cope with it.

"Excuse me" Ginny said getting their attention "There's a guest here to see us."

"Who is it" Arthur asked.

"Trust me; you're gonna want to see this for yourself" Ginny said before departing the room. One by one everyone got up and followed her into the next room and when they did all of their eyes widened when they saw Ron and company, but mostly Ron.

Without hesitating Harry charged forward "Ron" he said happily flinging his arms around his best mate.

Ron smiled widely as he hugged Harry just as tightly; even after all this time separated they were still best mates. Once they separated did Sirius step up "Good to see you boy" he grinned widely clapping hands with Ron and giving him a one armed hug. It was then Sirius noticed he wasn't alone "Oh you've brought guests."

Ron nodded slightly and, avoiding the eyes of his family, spoke up "Yes. In fact I'm here to announce a fact to you all." He turned to Daphne and held out his hand. She took his hand and stood next to him "For those who don't know this is Daphne Greengrass, my fiancé. We're getting married in a couple weeks."

The loud "WHAT" that came from Molly was drowned out by the whoops of happiness and joy coming from Harry, Ginny, Sirius and Tonks. Arthur, Remus and the twins were too shocked to react vocally. Ron got hard slaps on the back from Harry and Sirius while Daphne found herself getting hugged by Ginny making her blink in surprise at first before hugging the younger red head in return.

"QUIET" Molly finally bellowed and everyone immediately went silent. Ron swallowed as he knew this was where the trouble would come, but he kept his face expressionless. "Ron you've made some really bad decisions on your life, but this… one you're too young, two you're still in school and three you barely know each other. How can you possible marry someone like that?"

Ron got a serious glare on his face "That's just what you think; in fact I know her quite well. For one thing I know she'd never betray me or kick me aside like I was dirt." The cold harsh words caused quite a few flinches, but he ignored them "As for being too young; that doesn't matter anymore, I've been legally emancipated."

That struck a hurtful core in all of his family members "Emancipated" Arthur said in shock and hurt.

Ron noticed the hurt and squashed a feeling of guilt before pulling out a piece of paper and let it float up to his former family "This is the legal emancipation document signed by Pius Thicknesse himself; there's not a thing you can do about it. I had a feeling at least one would react negatively to this, so I had the emancipation done a few days ago; the spell was performed by my soon to be father-in-law, Lord Nicholas Greengrass."

Nicholas stood up and patted Ron on the shoulder. "We merely stopped by to inform you all of the events" he said in a clipped polite tone. "Despite your… treatment of my future son-in-law you are still his family and thus have a right to know. It is your choice on whether or not you choose to attend the wedding, but while you are there I expect you to act well behaved."

He got a couple half-glares from Fred and George, but he ignored it "That's all we wished to inform you of; Happy Christmas" Nicholas said before he turned around. "Cynthia, Astoria; we're leaving. Ronald, Daphne, I take it you two will catch up."

"Of course father" Daphne told him. He nodded to his daughter, but just as they were about to leave there was a loud cracking sound outside followed by another making everyone tense. "Ron, was that…" Daphne asked.

Ron nodded with a serious note peering through the windows and saw movement. His wand appeared in his hand instantly "Daphne with me; the rest of you stay inside" he ordered before he barged out the door with Daphne. Once outside they looked around tensely "Come on… I know you're out there. Show yourself" he whispered. Everyone, even the ones inside, could hear him and were a little startled by his voice. It was cold, calculating and calm despite the situation. He could hear footsteps, but couldn't see anyone and felt Daphne tense beside him "The way I was brought up… was to face our opponents honorably. And if our enemy is unarmed we offer them A WAND" he shouted at the end blasting a spell to his right in time to hit Bellatrix Lestrange right in the gut sending her sprawling back with a grunt.

Bellatrix was back on her feet in a flash glaring at them with hatred while they stared back evenly with wands raised before Bellatrix smirked. Suddenly more Death Eaters flew out of the fields and created a ring of fire around the perimeter of the Burrow. Once doing that the Death Eaters landed beside Bellatrix revealing that their numbers equaled five in total.

"Bellatrix" Ron said with disdain "I should've known you'd be behind this sneak attack." He looked at the two men beside her "I take it you are Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange." Tow blank icy stares was all he got in return "Fenrir Greyback… I hope" he said looking at a rather nasty looking man.

"Oh it's me alright" Greyback smirked showing serrated teeth. "I've wanted to sink my teeth into that pretty woman of yours for a while."

Daphne shivered in absolute disgust before she looked at the last Death Eater who possessed a very wicked and twisted looking face "Which leaves you as Dolohov, correct?" Dolohov merely sneered at her in return.

Bellatrix sneered at them as well "You little brats have run around like unchecked cockroaches long enough; it's time to be squashed." And with that she launched a spell at them, which ended up going past them and impacting with the Burrow creating a giant hole. Everyone inside had jumped back in time and could now see the whole thing.

A trail of blood flowed down Ron's cheek as the spell created a large gash on his face. "I finally understand now" he said with dull eyes. "There's absolutely no reasoning with you people, which leaves us no choice, but to keep killing until there are none of you left." Smirking he finished by saying "Didn't your master learn anything from the last time we decimated his forces."

After that chaos erupted as the Death eaters roared and fired spell after spell at them. Ron and Daphne began blocking the spells and swerving about to get closer to the Death Eaters. Greyback and Bellatrix swarmed Daphne, who fought back evenly while the Lestrange brothers and Dolohov centered on Ron.

This was the second time Harry and Ginny were seeing them in action, but it was the first time everyone else was seeing them in action. They were simply amazing; Daphne dodged swipes from Greyback blasting him back with nearly invisible blasts of wind while defending herself from Bellatrix's strikes while blasting her own spells back in return.

Ron was locked in a massive three way duel with the Lestrange Brothers and Dolohov. Ducking a spell from Rabastan Ron blasted Rodolphus in the leg before erecting a shield to protect himself from Dolohov before leaning back on his hands and using his feet he kicked a large blast of fire at all three death Eaters making them jump away.

Meanwhile Daphne launched a barrage of spells at Bellatrix, which were all blocked by the insane female Death Eater before feeling Greyback charge at her. Thanks to her wind power she could sense a change in movement behind her. Turning she swiftly dodged a spell from Greyback before wrapping him up with wind before slamming him into the ground.

Ducking a spell from Bellatrix she jumped into the air hovering before she flew at Bellatrix like a bullet and slammed her with a spell sending her rolling across the ground before landing on her two feet.

"Bella" Rodolphus called distracted by her getting injured. Ron took advantage of this and while his back was turned Ron blasted Rabastan back with a simply knock-back jinx before launching a fireball from his hand that sent Dolohov flying back.

Abandoning his wand Ron held his hands together "Excalibur" he shouted and the shout reminded Rodolphus that Ron was indeed still his opponent. He turned just in time for Ron to run the legendary holy blade through his torso.

Time seemed to literally stop for Bellatrix and Rabastan as they stared with their eyes getting wider and wider. Rodolphus had been completely run through with the blade sticking out his back. Rodolphus stared at Ron in quite horror as the blade dug deeper into his body. He could no longer breathe and just began choking on his own blood.

With a grunt Ron shoved Rodolphus off his blade and the Death Eater fell to the ground never to move, breathe or cast another spell again. "Rodolphus" Rabastan roared before shooting up and charging at Ron seemingly forgetting about his ability to use his wand. Ron merely slashed at Rabastan as he attempted to punch Ron. His arm was completely slashed off his body and he roared in pain, but before he could do anything else Ron had wordlessly called his wand back to his hand and pressed it against Rabastan's stomach.

They made eye contact for a few seconds before Ron said "Bombarda." Rabastan was launched back and landed on the ground no longer moving, but still alive. With that Ron engaged Dolohov while Daphne concentrated on Greyback.

Bellatrix was still in a state of shock; her husband was now dead. Sure Bellatrix may have only married him because he was a respectable pureblood from a pureblood family, but Rodolphus always was kind to her and tried to please her even though he knew she'd never hold any love for him.

Feeling a sense of loss for the first time in her life made Bellatrix fly into a blind rage. Daphne was caught off guard by the sudden and vicious attack and was nearly knocked over. "Daphne" Ron shouted before turning back to Dolohov. He had to finish him quickly; banishing his sword he attacked Dolohov with a flurry of spells.

Daphne had to seriously avoid a massive amount of spells from Bellatrix and the fast movements from Greyback; she was beginning to get overwhelmed. Dodging an explosion spell from Dolohov Ron summersaulted under Dolohov before yelling "Stupefy" and nailed Dolohov right in the head.

Just as he did that Daphne let out a scream as Greyback scored a hit on her and raked his claws along her side and her distraction allowed Bellatrix to blast her in the chest knocking all air out of her lungs "Daphne" many voices shouted as they all rushed towards her.

"Hold it" Bellatrix shouted grabbing Daphne by the hair holding her up and pressing her want to her throat. Everyone still "That's right, stay there; one move and this pretty head becomes detached from her body." Everyone stilled and did as she said "Greyback; take his wand" Bellatrix ordered.

Greyback approached Ron with his wand pointed at Ron as if daring him to make a bad move. Just as he reached for him Ron acted and in the blink of an eye he grabbed Greyback, got him in a head lock with his right arm and dragged him over his shoulder and slammed him to the ground. Not stopping he used his momentum to turn his body "Excalibur" he roared and his sword formed again. He threw it; the sword sailed through the air and slashed deeply through Bellatrix's shoulder. This all happened in the timespan of three seconds.

While she roared in pain Daphne took her chance and shouted "Caliburn" and her own sword formed in her hand. She slammed the hilt into Bellatrix's gut making her let go of Daphne to clutch her stomach allowing Daphne to turn around and slash at Bellatrix. Luckily for Bellatrix she had leaned back in time to avoid fatal damage, but got a blow to the face.

Greyback jumped up and lunged for Ron, but was intercepted "Expluso" Nicholas roared. The spell hit Greyback head and he was launched so far into the fields he couldn't be seen. He was more than likely unconscious from the attack. With that he ran over to the two children "Are you alright" he asked worriedly.

"I'm fine" Ron said before looking to Daphne. She was looking a little pale; gently he peeled her hand from her side to see blood still flowing from her side, but thankfully it wasn't too deep. "It's just a flesh wound; take her. I'll deal with Bellatrix." Nicholas nodded and gently scooped his daughter into his arms before running back to everyone else while Ron faced Bellatrix.

Bellatrix glared angrily through one eye as her hand was covering the other side of her face including her eye. How could this have happened? They were four of the Dark Lord's Elite and a powerful werewolf yet they lost so easily.

"This isn't over" she hissed raising her wand.

Ron raised his in return "On the contrary it is Bellatrix; even if you do manage to beat me there are ten powerful witches and wizards behind me who are more than willing to take you on. Face it you won't be leaving here alive."

"Is that so" a cold voice interjected. Everyone froze as a massive cold feeling, similar to a Dementor, settled over them. A wisp of black smoke later and a tall bald pale man in a black cloak with deep red eyes had arrived.

Lord Voldemort!

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flame will be ignored.


	12. Chapter 12

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter Twelve)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

'Oh fuck me' was Ron's only thought as he saw the Dark Lord himself here. Ron was powerful, as was his Garrison. Individually they could take on any Death Eater, but last time it took all five of them just to match Voldemort's power. He couldn't chance calling the rest of the Garrison because odds are Voldemort would recognize what he was doing and he, or someone else, would be dead before he could finish.

Voldemort glared at him and everyone before speaking "Bella" he said getting the female Death Eater to flinch slightly. "Collect the others and dispose of the dead with dignity."

"My lord… I" she stammered. A sharp glance from Voldemort silenced her and she did as she was told; a moment later and she was gone with everyone else leaving only Voldemort. Voldemort then began to raise his wand and Ron raised his before Voldemort pointed it above Ron; a large shield of magic erected itself separated Ron from the others.

"I want no interference… you are mine to kill" Voldemort hissed at him. Ron gulped silently, but kept his wand raised. "You've become a massive thorn in my side, my forces are being depleted because of you, my plans have to be altered because of you, but worst of all mud-bloods, traitors and filthy creatures alike are gaining courage to stand against me… BECAUSE OF YOU" he roared in the end.

Ron didn't speak and just kept silent; the last thing he needed to do was speak and get Voldemort angry. Turning his gaze slightly he locked eyes with Daphne, who was being healed by her mother. He tried to convey all his thoughts to her, trying to tell her he was going to be okay. She seemed to understand, but the worry was very clear in her eyes.

"Raise your wand Weasley" Voldemort bellowed at Ron snapping him from his thoughts. Voldemort had circled to a different spot "I said raise it, NOW" he shouted. Ron did facing the Dark Lord "You've been taught how to officially duel one on one yes?" Without waiting for an answer he continued "First, we bow to each other" he said lowering his head a bit in a small bow, but retained eye contact. Ron remained still "Come on now Ronald, the niceties must be adhered; your Garrison wouldn't want you to forget your manners would they." Ron remained standing; he wasn't going to give Voldemort any satisfaction "I said bow" he commanded pointing his wand at Ron.

Ron grunted in slight pain as he felt his spine bend against his will forcing him into a bow, but to his horror he now realized he couldn't straighten back up.

"That's better" Voldemort said with glee. "And now…" he charged past Ron throwing him to the ground before he could blink; Voldemort was incredibly fast. Pointing his wand at Ron Voldemort uttered a spell that horrified everyone "Crucio."

Ron rolled around jerking haphazardly from the intense pain of the curse. It felt like a thousand white hot knives were stabbing and slicing every inch of his flesh, but he refused to scream and instead loud muffled grunts of agony escaped his mouth as he thrashed.

Finally the spell was lifted and he lied on the ground panting in agony; he could vaguely here the shouts from Fred "Son of a bitch I'm gonna kill you" followed by George "Touch my brother and I'll fucking kill you."

Voldemort ignored them all and approached Ron "That a boy Ronald, your parents should be proud, especially your pathetic betraying mother."

"STUPE–" Ron attempted to curse Voldemort in anger, but the dark lord merely rebounded the spell and it sent Ron flying back a few feet.

"I'm going to kill you Ronald Weasley" Voldemort sneered stepping up to him "I'm going to destroy you." Ron had never felt as scared as he did right now especially as Voldemort leaned his disgusting face down close to him and spoke in a deadly whisper that was heard by everyone. "After tonight no one will ever again stand against me. After tonight anyone uttering the name of Dragon or Ronald will be killed on the spot and I, being a merciful lord, will oblige."

The way he talked as if he was doing a favor for him made Ron so badly want to blast his face off, but knew he couldn't lest he'd get his own face blasted off.

"GET UP" the dark lord bellowed thrusting his hand at Ron. Wandlessly Ran was lifted into the air before set on his own feet again. Hastily Ron dove into the fields narrowly missing a spell to the face "Don't you turn your back on me Ronald Weasley, I want you to look at me when I kill you. I WANT TO SEE THE LIGHTS LEAVE YOUR EYES."

Meanwhile as Ron hid he was cursing himself; he had never run from death eaters before in his life and as the leader of his own organization how could he run from another leader. With a grunt he stepped out of the fields and faced Voldemort. If it was his destiny to die tonight then he'd die fighting.

"Have it your way" he glared. They stared in silence before they both roared and launched their spells simultaneously; both spells collided in midair with a loud boom. They held the standoff glaring at each other before Voldemort flicked his wand with a yell. Lightning bolts shot at Ron; the Weasley countered by erected a shield with his hand causing the lightning bolts to harmlessly bounce off it.

Both of them then canceled their spells and conjured fire. Voldemort's took the form of a large snake while Ron's took the form of a large Ukrainian Ironbelly. Both fire beasts clashed while the conjurers attacked once more in a standoff and Voldemort was furious when he found his spell being overpowered. Ron's eyes showed no fear as he faced the dark lord and that infuriated Voldemort "YOU'RE MINE" he shouted.

Suddenly something extraordinary happened; a red glow came from Ron's chest attracting his attention suddenly his shirt was blown open revealing the Heart of the Dragon. It was glowing so brightly that it looked like a beacon.

Ron was shocked at the action until he remembered what the Queen had told him. 'Luther slayed a now extinct breed of dragon and its blood and power infused with the gem and it was said to increase Luther's power.' Ron felt it; he felt a massive power increase and now he knew… he knew he could win.

Breaking the spell Ron waved his wand at both fire beasts and they were both destroyed and the leftover fire he compressed into a ball before launching it at Voldemort. The Dark Lord batted away the fire, but didn't prepare for Ron to suddenly appear in front of him.

The Dark Lord was knocked backwards by a spell to the chest and that action alone got Ron so many wide eyed looks for he actually hit Voldemort. Glaring at Voldemort Ron's eyes flashed before he spoke in a voice echoing with power "Time Alter: Double Accel."

Suddenly it was like Ron became invisible until he appeared behind Voldemort with his wand pointed right at his spine. His spell launched right as Voldemort vanished in a wisp of smoke. The dark lord landed a short distance away from Ron with wide eyes. "Madness, what magic is this" he shouted.

"Find out when you're dead" he glared before Ron surrounded himself in lightning "Time Alter: Lightning Accel." Like a bolt of lightning, one minute he was there and the next second he was gone. Voldemort's eyes widened and he just barely turned in time to blocked a behind strike from Ron, but the fire mage vanished again and struck Voldemort in the face drawing blood.

Now Voldemort was showing a bit of fright in his eyes, but Ron was feeling his body protesting every movement. He had been working on his Time Alter spell for almost five months now ever since his Garrison had acquired their swords. He devised it so he could stop time in a temporary field around himself and his Garrison allowing them to roam freely and kill Death Eaters before they could react and then use the counter spell to relax their bodies before they broke down.

But using Double Accel for the first time and even mixing his lightning magic to make the Lightning Accel was beginning to break down his own body. He couldn't take another step as he felt the tendon in his left leg rip and so he fell to the ground.

Voldemort took a breath before he laughed and advanced on Ron raising his wand. Looking to his left Ron spotted Excalibur on the ground from when he threw it at Bellatrix. "Accio" he shouted. The sword flew into his hand as Voldemort's spell was launched. The spell impacted with the blade and was reflected back at Voldemort striking the Dark Lord in the chest.

With a roar of anger, pain and frustration Voldemort stumbled back holding his bleeding chest through bony fingers. Ron, no longer acting with his mind, but now on pure instinct, stood up and raised the sword into the air. With a grunt he began waving the sword in a circle above his head. Suddenly wind began picking up, the sword glowed a bright gold color and a large golden ball of pure magical energy formed above him.

Voldemort stepped back in absolute fear at the massive amount of magical energy that kept growing in size. "EXCALIBUR" Ron roared before swinging the sword. The golden orb of energy flew at Voldemort surrounding itself in wind and debris it picked forming a large golden twister that enveloped everything in its path. The attack continued on for at least 10 kilometers before dissipating.

Ron felt all his strength leave him; stumbling to turn around he finally did and tried hobbling back to everyone else, but the pain of using his Time Alter, Lightning Magic and Excalibur had taken its toll on his body. Dropping Excalibur Ron fell to the ground and let darkness envelop him. The last thing he heard was the worried calls of everyone else.

The next day passed in a complete blur as Ron was kept in bed at the Burrow and was monitored around the clock. Daphne and Harry hardly left his side; the worse injury he had was a ripped tendon in his leg, which was fixed up very quickly. Now the only thing that he had to do now was rest until he recovered his strength.

Throughout the day Daphne and Harry sat by his side "It's almost unfair" Harry murmured.

Daphne looked at him "What is?"

"I never wanted to abandon Ron, he was and still is my best mate" Harry said. "Once I learned of what he had accomplished I wanted to stand by him as an equal and then when this mess was over we could go back to being friends and put this mess behind us. And now I see despite all my training… he's still so far ahead of me."

Daphne looked ay Harry briefly "Don't bother" she finally said making him glare at her a bit. "With everything he is now, there won't be anyone who can stand as his equal."

Harry's glare left his face and now he only had curiosity "What do you mean?" Daphne spent the rest of the afternoon explaining everything to Harry.

Downstairs the talk was also about Ron "He fought You-Know-Who to a standstill and even forced him to retreat" Remus murmured rubbing his forehead. He was too stressed and too tired since the first night of the cycle was last night "How could I have been so stupid?"

"Remus" Tonks said softly gripping his hand. Despite Remus being the instigator for the problem Tonks still loved him immensely.

When the problem began almost two years ago all Sirius could feel was anger towards Remus, but now he felt pity for his suffering friend. Even though he had been forgiven by Tonks and Sirius it was plainly obvious that he had yet to forgive himself. "Just let it go for now Remus; when the war is over you'll have all the time you need to talk it out." Remus just nodded, but looked like he wanted to object, but couldn't find the strength to.

Astoria, naïve and oblivious to what happened with Ron and his family, was sitting idly with Ginny, Fred and George swapping stories about Ron and Daphne with each other. The talk of the parents in the kitchen was anything, but pleasant, which was why there was a silencing charm around the entire kitchen with the doors shut so no one could hear or enter.

"Why do you insist on putting him down further" Cynthia positively glared at Molly Weasley.

"He risked his life stupidly to take on You-Know-Who" Molly glared right back. "He could've been killed."

"But he wasn't and he risked his life to not only save our lives, but the lives of our children" Cynthia said feeling her blood pressure rise rapidly. This woman was infuriating and she couldn't believe a wonderful man like Ron could come from this woman "Instead of scolding him you should be praising him."

"I don't praise my children for doing stupid stunts" Molly said coldly.

"Why you ignorant, judgmental–" Cynthia hissed.

"Cynthia" Nicholas said firmly. Cynthia took a deep breath through her nose before sitting down with her arms and legs crossed so tightly that it looked like they'd never come uncrossed. Nicholas sighed "Mrs. Weasley, your son has become a fine young man; he's giving people hope, he's become so strong and handsome and he's getting married soon. Why are you only looking at the negative?"

Now instead of her cold angry look it was replaced by a sad look "He wasn't supposed to be like this."

That got her a few raised eyebrows "What do you mean" Nicholas asked.

"From the moment Ronald was born I never expected him to amount to much" Molly admitted honestly. "He never showed any talent towards anything magic, he was very average looking and his maturity was far below average. He was supposed to be just an average wizard with an average life and an average job."

"Is that what he was supposed to be… or is that what you wanted him to be" Cynthia finally spoke. She felt no sympathy for this woman at all if she never believed in her child. She only felt sympathy for Arthur, who looked so stressed and tired.

"Mr. Weasley" Nicholas spoke "Do you have something to say?"

Arthur rubbed his forehead a few seconds longer before speaking "I'll admit I was always the most worried about Ron, but like all my children I believed he would take life by the reigns and move forward with it. Whatever path he would choose is the one I would believe in. No matter how many times he fell or was knocked down I'd always be there to help him back up and support him until he could stand on his own. That's what a father does."

Nicholas nodded approvingly "I agree and I can see why Ronald is the way he was before getting involved in this matter." Both Weasley parents looked confused "Even though he tries to hide it I can tell Ronald still has the hidden traits of someone with an inferiority complex. It makes sense, being the youngest brother with the only younger sibling being a girl. It's no wonder he felt so inferior and, correct me if I'm wrong, but one of you desperately craved a daughter didn't you?"

Molly shakingly spoke "I did."

Cynthia caught on and was wide eyed "How much older is Ron than your daughter?"

"One year and five months" Arthur responded.

"That explains a lot" Nicholas said with a small sad sigh "It's safe to say after your two twins sons you didn't want another son did you Mrs. Weasley?" She didn't respond "When Ronald was born you were disappointed that he wasn't a girl weren't you." Once more she didn't respond, but her lips began to tremble "I'm also going to guess that you never really connected to him like the rest of your children and spent more time spoiling your daughter."

"Stop it" Molly whispered.

Nicholas didn't "As he grew up you only saw his negatives instead of his positives giving him a massive inferiority complex that made him do anything to stand out and get attention even if it was bad."

"STOP IT" she shouted.

"NO I WILL NOT STOP" Nicholas finally lost his temper standing up. "Why should I stop to a woman who only sees her son as a burden?" Molly collapsed in her husband's arms sobbing loudly; Arthur only held her softly not doing anything to stop Nicholas.

"What do you want from me" Molly finally spoke in a broken voice "You want me to admit I was a horrible mother."

"He wants you to admit your mistake" Cynthia spoke again. Her voice held absolutely no sympathy "Admit that you messed up and admit that you can change. Change for the better and support your son's decisions. You may have six of them, but it will hurt all the same to lose one."

A couple weeks later Ron was up and about feeling better than ever and back at Greengrass Manor with his future father-in-law, mother-in-law and father setting up wedding chairs and tables for the guests. It was going to be an outdoor wedding on a beautiful snowy day.

The rest of the Garrison was over also setting up some decorations while Tracey was helping Daphne prep for the biggest day of her life while also learning of what happened. "I'm glad you're both okay and I'm sorry we couldn't be there for you two" Tracey said with regret.

"It's okay" Daphne said reassuringly. "We managed to drive them off and Ron even fought toe to toe with Voldemort himself."

"That's amazing" Tracey gushed wishing she could've seen that.

"That's not all that happened at the beginning of break" Daphne said with a minx-like grin forming on her face. She held a sketchbook in her hands "Did you know Ron is a very talented artist?" Tracey raised an eyebrow "Turn to the last page" she said.

Tracey flipped to the last page of the sketchbook and her eyes widened to impossible proportions when she saw the nude sketch of Daphne. Turning to the blond she got a wide grin on her face "You little horn dog" she squealed trapping her best friend in a tight hug. "I bet he couldn't stop blushing."

"It wasn't just him" Daphne said in a sensual whisper. "My heart was pounding the entire time. It was the most erotic moment of my life." Tracey could not stop grinning "Who knows… maybe Theo will draw one of you."

The grin left her face and her face turned bright red "Daphne" she whined. Daphne laughed and avoided a swat to the arm from Tracey.

The wedding was about to begin; Ron was outside dressed in fabulous black long sleeved tunic and pants with lustrous sapphire blue dress robes over them with his hair very neatly brushed going down his shoulders and parted perfectly to the side exposing his lustrous blue eyes. The Heart of the Dragon hung around his neck on his chest.

Despite looking his nicest he had never felt so nervous; he was going to be married in less than 20 minutes. Tracey, Ginny and Cynthia were currently upstairs getting Daphne fully prepared while Ron was out back with Nicholas, his father and Harry. Ron's father was standing off to the side as he wouldn't miss this for the world while Nicholas was the one who would perform the ceremony. Harry stood beside Ron as he was Ron's Best Man like Tracey was the Maiden of Honor.

After hearing Daphne's story about how Ron was going to be the new King of the Wizarding World Harry understood. He could never stand by Ron as an equal, but he would stand by Ron when the war was over. Harry wasn't stupid; he knew the Wizarding world would need to be completely revolutionized and would need many people to do it.

Other than Ginny and his father Ron had yet to see the rest of his family show up and it kind of saddened him that even after everything only his father and Ginny were with him still. Just as Ron gave up hope he saw them arrive in the back; there was his mother, Bill, Charlie, Fred and George. All of them made eye contact and Ron saw regret and shame in their eyes, but they did give small nods to him. Ron knew immediately that there would be time to talk after the wedding. Ron doubted if he'd forgive them just like that, but it would be nice to talk.

He didn't want unresolved issues in his life.

Speaking of unresolved issues; he still had to get married. It wasn't long until Daphne came out and Ron could not stop staring at her; she looked so beautiful in her wedding dress. Her blond hair was so smooth and sleek looking with an emerald encrusted tiara on her head along with silver emerald earrings on her ears. The wedding was quick, but passionate as Ron and Daphne maintained eye contact the whole time and the only time they spoke was when they said the two most passionate words they'd ever say in their lives.

"I do!"

The celebration was amazing; family members from both sides were clapping and cheering as Ron and Daphne danced on the dance floor in each other's arms happily. When everyone else began dancing they noticed with knowing smiles that Tracey and Theo were dancing with Tracey being the leader as it was obvious Theo did not know how to dance at all. It was quite funny and cute.

Blaise sat off to the side sipping firewhisky as he watched his friends dance. Blaise never intended to marry or get together with a girl as he knew relationships were rather troublesome and he didn't want to end up like his mother.

Either way the newly wedded couple danced the entire night away and never once did they break eye contact.

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flames will be ignored.


	13. Chapter 13

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter Thirteen)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

It was a fantastic wedding and the reception was filled with nothing, but fun, drinking and dancing the entire night. Yet despite the marvelous time they had Daphne and Ron remained sober and when the guests had begun to leave the two of them went up to Daphne's room with Ron carrying her the entire way. They were legally married, but had agreed that night that now wasn't the right time to completely consummate their marriage because they were only sixteen and because of the situation they were in. They would wait until after the war was over to completely consummate their marriage and go on a honeymoon.

The next morning Ron woke up first with his beautiful bride snuggled in his arms with her head resting on his chest. Smiling he kissed her on top of her blond head before gently detangling himself and standing up. Having stripped themselves of their robes and dress they slept in their underwear and knickers respectively.

With another look to Daphne Ron looked down at his left hand and saw a golden wedding band fastened securely on his finger and he couldn't stop smiling. He put on some blue pants and a sleeveless black shirt before he went downstairs for a drink. The Greengrass Manor was quite large as could house many guests and those who decided to stay got their own guestrooms to sleep in.

Ron just poured himself some pumpkin juice and took a sip with a content sigh before he felt a tap to his shoulder. Turning around he froze slightly at the face of his older brothers Fred and George. He regained himself quickly "Can I help you" he asked neutrally.

Both twins looked rather awkward as they shuffled for a few seconds before George spoke "Look Ron we're…" he sighed a bit before speaking clearly and sincerely "We're sorry. We're sorry for everything." Ron's eyebrows rose to his hairline when he heard this. He was surprised that they actually came out and said it although he had a feeling it took some convincing on George's part to get Fred in on this. George was always the softer, gentler of the two.

After a nudge from George Fred spoke up "Yeah… look Ron we were arseholes –"

"Were" Ron interrupted with a dry voice and cold glare.

"Okay we are arseholes, look this isn't easy for us –" Fred began, but Ron interrupted.

"I don't care if it's easy for you or not" he sneered at them. "Grow up and own up to your own fuck ups. Guess what, life's not easy and amending is never easy, but if you two don't have the guts to admit it to me straight up then don't bother coming to me." And with that he marched right past them.

"So what do you want us to say" Fred shouted at him. "You want us to admit we were horrible brothers… to choose your own best friend over you."

Ron stopped and turned to them his blue eyes as cold as glaciers "I want you two… to stop beating around the bush and admit your mistakes."

Seeing Fred about to open his mouth again George quickly spoke "No Fred, he's right" the gentler twin said. His twin looked at him shocked "We fucked up Fred… we fucked up big time. We promised each other over a year ago that the next time we saw him we'd apologize and we're fucking that up to. I don't know about you… but I'm not fucking up again."

And with that George turned to Ron head bowed in a clear sign of submission and said in a heartfelt truthful voice "Ron, I'm so sorry for what I did. I don't expect you to ever forgive me nor do I expect things to go back to the way they were, but I had to tell you." Looking up his brown eyes were shining with tears and emotions "I love you little brother, I always will."

Now it was both Fred and Ron that were looking at him with shock until Ron smiled "You're right George" he said softly. "Things won't got back to the way they were… not ever." George looked away ashamed until Ron spoke again "But that doesn't mean we can't start over again." The look of shame turned into a grin before George ran forward and embraced Ron tightly; Ron gladly reciprocated.

Fred stood there feeling alone and awkward as he stared at his twin and little brother before it finally hit him. Even when he tried apologizing he was still a selfish prat thinking only about himself. Once his twin and brother separated Fred spoke "He's right Ron." Ron looked at him "It's time I own up. I'm sorry little brother; I've been a right arsehole and a horrible big brother. Like George I don't expect you to forgive me right away or for everything to go back to the way it was, but I wanted you to know."

For the first time in a long time Ron felt the sincerity in Fred's voice when he apologized and it wasn't forced. With a small grin Ron patted his brother on the shoulder "We can start over again" was all he said and gave him a quick one-armed hug.

It felt nice to make some peace with his brothers.

NEXT DAY

The guests for the wedding had long since left and Ron got to make peace with his twin brothers as well as Bill and Charlie, but he never had a chance to talk with his mother. Once or twice he saw her looking at him or they passed each other and each time she looked like she wanted to speak, but couldn't find the words.

Ron didn't care though; he wasn't going to make the first move. This was her mistake, not his; if she wanted him back in her life then she'd have to make the first move.

Currently the Garrison was discussing Ron's spell that he used against Voldemort "I still can't believe you made a spell that can alter time" Theo said in an amazed voice. "A spell like that has only been thought of, but never made."

"It's not total time control" Ron told them. "It's altering time in a certain amount of space. Currently I can only cast it around myself and I'm working on expanding it to cover you guys as well."

"That would be useful" Blaise said.

"He's right" Tracey said. "With a spell of that power we could attack without being seen at all. However, I bet a spell that powerful has a weakness."

"It does" Daphne said remembering when she saw Ron collapse to the ground against Voldemort with his left tendon ripped. "It can break down the body."

"She's right" Ron said gravely. "I used it for the first time against Voldemort himself so I didn't have any time to relax my body."

"Relax your body" Theo said confused.

Before Ron could explain Blaise spoke "Why don't you explain the whole spell to us in the first place."

Ron nodded "Right; well the spell itself is called Time Alter, but it's got many different variations, one of which only I can use. The first one is known as Double Accel and it's the most basic and safest one to use. Double Accel allows one to move faster than any human eye can detect. Voldemort himself could barely avoid the attack and that's only because he's so powerful with advanced reflexes. The spell works by speeding up the metabolism, blood flow and muscle movement, which allows one to move instantaneously."

Taking a breath he continued "The next stage is known as Triple Accel and I haven't tried that one yet. A couples moves of Double Accel pushes my body to the limit so Triple Accel would no doubt push my body, and anyone's body, beyond their limits. The same goes for the final version of the spell, which quadruples everything, known as Square Accel. If I ever use that version… it's because I'll have no other choice."

The more he explained the more wide eyed everyone had become before Blaise asked "What about the version only you can use?"

"It's special version I created using my elemental powers. It's called Lightning Accel and I use it by wrapping my entire body in lightning, but instead of using it offensively I'm using it to temporarily stimulate my nervous system. Basically I'm speeding up my neural synapses to react faster. To put it in laymen's terms… I'm about half as fast as a bolt of lightning."

Now that thought was scary since lightning flashes in 1/1000th of a second and a human was capable of using that ability to flash in 1/500th of a second would have any sane person not wanting to get on that person's bad side.

"Unfortunately, using that move when my body is exhausted makes me more exhausted at a quicker pace" Ron informed them. "I've never used it at full strength, but I do know that it doesn't exhaust my body as fast as the other Time Alter abilities do."

"And how would you relax your body" Tracey asked.

"The counter spell to the Accel is called Stagnate" Ron said. "Time Alter: Triple Stagnate slows down every body function to a third of its original speed. It slowed down everything so much that I could barely feel my own heartbeat, but it does relax your body very quickly. Since most tracking spells work by sensing heartbeats Triple Stagnate will hide us."

"That would come in handy if we're ever on the run" Theo commented.

They all agreed before they were about to head back; Tracey and Theo already left and Cynthia called Daphne to help her with something. Ron was about to leave before Blaise stopped him "Ron, I need to speak to you."

Ron stopped and gave Blaise his full attention "What is it Blaise?"

"Like you I've been working on a spell… for over a year now" Blaise began and Ron immediately got interested.

"What kind of spell" Ron asked.

"A spell that's an absolute ultimate offense and absolute ultimate defense" Blaise said. "I came across a book in my mother's library a little over a year ago and the content depicted a warrior surrounded in his own magical energy that acted as a defense and an offense."

Ron looked very intrigued "And you've been… trying to duplicate it?"

Blaise nodded "I've even had some success too, but it's incredibly difficult and kind of painful."

"If you can I'd like to see what you've done so far" Ron asked. Blaise nodded and Ron watched as Blaise closed his eyes and concentrated. Then Ron's eyes widened as a yellow glow suddenly surrounded Blaise before it solidified into solid magical energy. The magical energy then seemed to warp around Blaise and turn into a large spinal cord with eight large ribs forming with four on either side before it looked like arms were beginning to forge. Blaise began straining visibly as the arms began to form before he gasped in pain and fell to his knees with the energy vanishing. "Blaise" Ron said worriedly supporting his friend.

"I'm okay" Blaise panted slightly before standing up straight with Ron's help. "That's as much as I can do without succumbing to pain. It's like every cell in my body was on fire."

"That's dangerous magic Blaise" Ron said in a serious tone. "But… if something like that could be created… then nothing could ever stop us." Ron stroked his chin furiously before he looked back to Blaise "Don't practice that on your own without anyone to help. When term officially ends I want us all to try and practice that. For now let's keep this between us."

"Alright" Blaise said before vanishing with a pop.

Only three days later and they were all back in school again, but right away upon exiting the train and making their way up to the castle they were getting stairs. Everyone literally stopped and stared as they walked along the path to the school.

"Shot in the dark, but I think everyone officially knows who we are now" Theo whispered to everyone.

"Ya think" Blaise said sarcastically. He was especially uncomfortable with everyone staring at him. So they just did their best to continue on until getting to the courtyard until they heard a commotion. Looking forward they saw Slytherin Girls Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode harassing Daphne's sister Astoria with a mossy haired boy, who Ron recognized as Colin Creevey, trying to defend her.

Daphne's green eyes flared in rage and she marched up to them. "Oh boy" Ron said nervously. Hastily he said "Catch up to you later" and with that he ran to catch up with Daphne.

The angry blond had got to Pansy and Millicent just as wands were drawn. Too angry to draw her wand Daphne grabbed Pansy and shoved her up against the wall "Hey, Hey, Hey" Pansy shouted in alarm. Millicent went to point her wand at Daphne only for it to fly out of her hand. She turned and saw that it was Ron who caught it with his own wand out.

"I don't care what you're deal is… don't ever come near my sister again" Daphne hissed before she tossed Pansy aside.

The hard-faced Slytherin caught herself before she fell and glared at Daphne. A crowd was beginning to form around them "You chose the wrong side" Pansy sneered. "I was just making sure Astoria didn't make the same mistake as her sister."

"Oh yeah, beating up on a girl two years younger than you is real kind" Ron said in a sarcastic tone.

"SHUT UP BLOOD TRAITOR" Pansy shouted at him. Ron just scoffed at her pathetic insult and tossed Millicent her wand back. "Don't get comfortable, it won't be long until you're all dead and they'll be headstones with your names on it." Daphne lunged for Pansy, but Ron grabbed her arms and held her back. Pansy sneered again "Just like I said" she said to Millicent "A dead woman."

"JUST SHUT UP YOU MISERABLE COW" Daphne screeched at her, but Pansy and Millicent had already walked away.

Ron did his best to calm Daphne down "It's only Parkinson" he whispered rubbing her arms softly. He had never seen Daphne so upset before and it was kind of scary. He was glad her fury wasn't directed at him. Noticing everyone was staring he barked "Mind your own business you wankers."

Everyone began wandering off while Ron and Daphne went to check on Astoria and Colin. While Daphne checked on Astoria Ron went to Colin "You okay Colin" he asked.

Colin supported a few scrapes, but was otherwise okay "Yeah, I'm fine" he said.

"What exactly happened" Ron asked.

"I saw her getting harassed by Parkinson and her friend" Colin explained. "I mean… I couldn't just do nothing so I came over to help and next thing I know I'm on the ground with Parkinson's hulking friend over me."

Ron nodded and looked back at Daphne to see she had calmed her sister down and was healing a minor cut she had received. "That was a nice thing you did Colin; even for a Slytherin."

Colin only grinned "I don't believe in all the prejudice between the Gryffindor's and Slytherins. At the end of the day we're all human and wizards."

Ron smiled at him and helped him up "Colin, don't ever change" he said. Once the two were properly taken care of Astoria shyly thanked Colin for helping her. All Colin did was smile in response and with that the two of them left.

"And to think this is only the second half of the year" Daphne said rubbing her temples.

Ron scratched his head slightly "Hey, the only thing worse is the Death Eaters invading the castle" he said before they went off to their dormitories.

The second half of the year seemed to roll by without any problem; the only thing that went by was their Apparition test. Since the Garrison had already mastered Apparition they passed with flying colors and got their Apparating licenses.

However on the morning of March 15th, two weeks after Ron's 17th birthday is when corruption finally caught up with them… in the form of the Ministry of Magic. Ron was in the middle of potions class with Daphne when all of a sudden the doors were thrown open and four Aurors came in.

"Excuse me, what is the meaning of this" Slughorn bellowed clearly unhappy. The rest of the class was looking exceptionally nervous.

Slughorn was ignored as the Auror's looked around the room and centered on "There they are, move in" one of them said as the moved towards… Ron and Daphne. "Get their wands" the same Auror said and suddenly two more Aurors snatched Ron and Daphne's wands before they could blink.

"Hey, what are you –" Ron protested.

"Incarcerous" two more Auror's bellowed and suddenly Ron and Daphne were wrapped up. "Get them out of here" an Auror barked and the two struggling teens were led out of the classroom while the students and teacher could only watch in absolute shock.

"Oh dear" Slughorn said nervously.

Ron and Daphne had ceased their struggling as they were led out of the dungeons and up to the main level and forced up the staircases to the Seventh Floor to the statue of the Gargoyle. Just because they stopped their struggling physically doesn't mean they did mentally. Their minds were running a mile a minute trying to come up with a plausible theory as to why Auror's were here and they were being arrested.

Once up the Gargoyle staircase they saw that it wasn't just them as Theo, Tracey and Blaise were already there tied up in chairs. "Oh great" Ron muttered as he and Daphne were thrust into chairs as well.

The others that were there were the Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour, the notable Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, Dumbledore obviously, along with Professor's McGonagall, Snape, Sprout and Flitwick. "So this is the famous Dragon's Garrison" Scrimgeour said staring at the five students. "Children… in over their heads the lot of them."

"These children have done more for this country than any of you have" McGonagall glared at Scrimgeour.

"Be that as it may be, vigilantism is not tolerated" Scrimgeour snapped. "They're lucky to not be in Azkaban right now."

"Really" Ron called getting his attention. "We're lucky to not be in Azkaban. Bull shit, you brought us here to try and use us, to make it look like the Ministry is actually doing something right."

Scrimgeour was in front of Ron in a flash "You should watch that smart mouth of yours boy." Reaching down he ripped Ron's shirt open exposing the Heart of the Dragon. "As if our world would accept a child as a King. The time of Luther passed by 1200 years ago; this world has no place for King's and Monarchs."

"And your world is so much better" Blaise sneered.

"Corrupt politicians" Theo snarled as well.

"Inefficient leaders" Tracey snapped.

"Blotching the truth and never accepting responsibility for your own actions" Daphne hissed at them.

"Face it Scrimgeour" Ron said with a calm smirk. "Your way just doesn't work anymore; a revolution is upon us all."

"STUN THEM" Scrimgeour roared in anger. He and the Auror's pulled their wands out, but it was what Ron was waiting for. Burning the ropes with his fire power a golden glow encompassed him and Scrimgeour and the Auror's were sent flying. Scrimgeour was the only one to stay conscious long enough and he saw it… a golden glowing broadsword in Ron's hand. "Im… possible" he grunted before passing out.

Ron sighed a bit as the glow died away; turning he swung his blade and a golden arc shot from the blade and disintegrated the ropes binding his Garrison. "Ronald" Dumbledore said. Turning Ron saw a very sad looking Dumbledore. "I'm sorry."

"For what sir" Ron asked.

"Scrimgeour had said he only wished to speak to you all" McGonagall said with regret. "And we were foolish enough to believe him."

"Don't worry about it Professor" Ron said with no ire or blame in his voice. "We all knew this was bound to happen sooner or later."

Tracey nodded "The Ministry is corrupt to the core and the moment they wound find the opportune chance is when they would strike."

"I know why they waited as well" Theo said. When he received looks he explained "Think about it; we're a pact with a strong leader. How do you take out a pack, you take out the leader. They waited until Ron turned seventeen so when they got him they could trial him as an adult."

"Bastards" Blaise muttered. "What do we do now?"

"Well I just attacked the Minister of Magic and his bodyguards" Ron said sarcastically. "And since you guys are affiliated with me I'm pretty sure that means we're on the bad side of Voldemort and the Ministry."

Daphne realized "We'll have to go on the run."

Ron nodded "Exactly; it's not safe for us anywhere, not even here." Turning to his now former headmaster and teachers he spoke "Thank you all for everything that you've done for us. Without teacher's like you… none of us would've made it this far." He backed up until he was side by side with his Garrison where they were all touching each other shoulder to shoulder. "Goodbye" he said before they all vanished in a loud crack.

NEXT DAY

GARRISON ON THE RUN! By Rita Skeeter.

Now the Ministry shows their true incompetence and stupidity. The one chance that the light has been having against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and the Ministry has to go and try to arrest them for something as redundant as 'Vigilantism.' Now with our group of heroes on the run and out of civilization this reporter wonders what the future holds now.

Harry set the daily prophet down with a look on his face that described 'pure murder.' Ginny saw his expression "Harry" she said gently touching his shoulder. Harry merely handed her the daily prophet and Ginny read it. In less than a minute her face showed the exact same expression; murder. "Those… foul… rotten…" Ginny was so angry she couldn't even form proper words to express her anger.

"Ginny, come with me" Harry said getting up and taking her hand. Ginny followed behind Harry, more like was dragged by him to a private corridor. "Ginny, I can't take it anymore."

"What are you talking about" Ginny asked.

"I can't take this sitting on the side and doing nothing shit anymore" Harry said absolutely furious. "This whole mess started because everyone thought Ron was useless and it turns out he was the most important piece. More important than Dumbledore and more important than me. I am done sitting behind a desk doing nothing while my best friend is out there risking his neck for everyone."

Ginny was almost stunned into silence before speaking "So… you plan on leaving." It wasn't a question.

Harry finally nodded "Yes." He took her by the hand "Come with me."

"What" Ginny said now truly shocked now.

"When I lost everything a second time you were one of two people left to pick me back up" Harry said passionately holding her by the waist. "You were there for me, you helped me and with you I became much stronger. Ginny, I can't do it alone; I need you. I love you Ginny, you're the only woman I'll ever say that to."

Ginny had small tears gathering up in her brown eyes Ginny captured Harry's lips in a hungry kiss. The two of them held each other tightly in their moment of passion wanting it to never end. They had to pull back nearly three minutes later for air "I've waited six long years to hear those words" she said.

"And I'll say them to you every day if you wish me to" Harry said before kissing her once more. Little did they know that they were being watched by another set of eyes. Disappearing around the corner was a head of bushy hair.

The following week passed in a blur as the Garrison spent their time gallivanting across the countryside of Ireland staying in the plains and only going into any towns at nighttime under a disguise. "Well it could be worse" Theo said as they continued walking.

"How" Tracey grunted as they climbed a hill.

Theo opened his mouth to respond, but Blaise quickly spoke "If you say 'Could be raining' I will push you down this hill." Theo promptly closed his mouth "Why are we still remaining in Ireland; most of Voldemort's activity is in Britain."

"That's true, but he's going to attack Hogwarts soon" Ron said.

"Why do you say that" Daphne asked.

"I don't know, gut feeling. I can't explain it, but I just know he's going to attack the castle soon" Ron said. "For now we've got nothing to do so we might as well begin our training. Blaise, I think it's time we let everyone else know about your own secret technique you've been coming up with."

TWO AND A HALF MONTHS LATER

Five figures walked over the Cliffside and saw the massive Hogwarts castle; a large green glowing skull with a snake tongue was hanging above the castle. "You were right" a feminine voice said. "They did end up attacking the castle."

"I honestly wish I wasn't" a male voice said. "Let's go." The five figures burst away into red smoke heading for the castle. When they arrived the Death Eaters were attacking the castle and when they struck the Death Eaters were not prepared.

They were falling body by body and the students and faculty who tried defending themselves could do absolutely nothing, but watch as they saw these mysterious hooded figures decimate the Death Eaters without so much as batting an eye.

In less than five minutes it was over "Look for wounded and get them to the hospital wing" he said to two of them. "The rest of you help us with the bodies" he barked to the students. And so with that the bodies of the Death Eaters were hauled out into the courtyard and once done the bodies were set ablaze.

"Who are you" someone asked them when the bodies were set ablaze.

Turning the three lowered their hoods revealing the faces of Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott and Ron Weasley. "Blimey Ron, it's you" Seamus said in shock as the two Gryffindor's greeted one another and exchanged other greetings with his old roommates as well. "What happened to you mate, you've been gone for months?"

"I'm sure you've read the prophet, right" Ron asked. Getting sheepish looks in response he said "I thought so; where's Harry and where's Dumbledore?"

He got uncomfortable looks in return "Harry's been gone for as long as you have. He disappeared the very next day you did" Neville informed him. "Ginny left with him."

Ron's eyes widened before they narrowed "And Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore… is dead."

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flames will be ignored.


	14. Chapter 14

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter Fourteen)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

The Garrison didn't stick around for Dumbledore's funeral; instead they immediately left and disappeared into the surrounding mountainsides "What do we do now" Daphne asked in a quiet tone. They were all looking rather forlorn and weary and for good reason. With Dumbledore gone no one was left to keep Voldemort in check meaning he was free to run around without worry.

Ron was silent for a moment as he stared back at the Hogwarts castle; the fire of the burning death eaters could still be seen. "With Voldemort now free to move around and his Death Eaters now able to do what they please without worry of the ministry… moving together is going to be too hard."

"What are you suggesting" Theo asked.

Ron turned to them "I'm suggesting that until the time is right we should disappear out of the eyes of the public… and each other." He got shocked looks in return "I know it's crazy, but moving together in a group we'll be recognized too easily. It's best if everyone goes to their families and goes underground into hiding until the time is right."

"That's for us, what about you" Blaise asked.

Ron was silent again for a minute "I have some unfinished business to take care of. When the time comes… I'll call and then… we end this war." Blaise simply nodded and was a short goodbye to all of them he disappeared into the sky. Tracey and Theo looked at each other before linking hands. With one last goodbye to Daphne and Ron they vanished in a pop. Daphne and Ron remained there for the longest "I love you" Ron whispered tenderly stroking her cheek.

"I love you too" Daphne whispered leaning into his gentle touch. Leaning up she kissed him and they stayed that way for a few minutes before reluctantly pulled apart. Ron began to walk when Daphne called "Dragon." Ron stopped and turned to her.

"Yes milady" he said softly.

"Soar high with your wings… or fall hard" she said softly.

Ron stared deep into her forest green eyes before he smiled "Goodbye… my love" was all he said before vanishing in a pop. Daphne soon vanished as well heading for home to keep her family safe. Ron continued to fly throughout the country looking for Harry and Ginny.

It took Ron a full week and when he finally came across something. He was in the middle of the forest when he smelled something; it smelled like… vanilla perfume. "Really" he said dryly before turning to his left and waved his wand. A barrier completely broke revealing a tent. Re-waving his wand the barrier was set back up and Ron walked over to the tent.

Peeking into the tent he saw exactly what he didn't want to see "WAKE UP" he bellowed and made a loud bang with his wand. Ginny and Harry woke up with a startle with Harry sitting up showing his bare chest and Ginny clutching the sheets to her chest.

"R-Ron" they both stuttered.

Ron slowly entered the tent "Harry, if you value whatever's below your waist you better have underwear on." Harry flushed brightly and his eyes darted; Ron followed his friend's eye and saw, what he assumed to be, Harry's boxers lying next to a pair of scandalous black knickers.

The look on Ron's face scared Harry more than Voldemort ever could.

"You have 30 seconds to get dressed, make it count" was all he said before exiting the tent. When he stepped out he heard hasty movement and a few crashes before Harry and Ginny came out looking distinctly disgruntled.

"Look Ron before you say anything I…" Harry began only for Ron to smack him upside the head.

"I'm not angry about that" he snapped pointing at the tent. "I only said what I said to get you out here faster."

They both blinked "You're not."

"Of course not, the moment you two got together I knew it was going to happen eventually" Ron grunted. "Let's face it, when Ginny has what she wants she doesn't let go." Ginny's face enflamed brightly "No, what I'm mad about is you ditching the school, you twit" he slapped Harry upside the head again.

"Blimey Ron" Harry grunted holding his head in pain from the two slaps.

"Look Ron, calm down okay" Ginny tried to placate. "I know it wasn't the best idea, but we–"

"Ginny right now, you are lucky I don't tie you up and send you back to the Burrow with a gift tag" Ron interrupted. "I don't mean to be rude, but I want the story from the horse's mouth so to speak." Turning to Harry he said "So Harry, tell me, what was the event that concocted this plan in that melon you call a head."

Tired of the insults to his head, both physically and mentally, Harry spoke. "The Daily Prophet gave a story about how the ministry was now after you guys and considered you an enemy as well. I was tired of sitting on the sidelines doing nothing while you stuck your neck out for us all. So I decided to leave and… I asked Ginny to come with me. She was the only one I could trust and the only one I could depend on."

Ron nodded a bit "And what exactly did you plan on doing?"

Ron and Ginny looked at each other before Ginny asked "Do you know about Horcrux's?" The look on Ron's face made it obvious that he did NOT know what a Horcrux was.

Harry explained "All year I've been having secret lessons with Dumbledore about Voldemort and his childhood. We learned why Voldemort was able to comeback after he tried to kill me fifteen years ago. It's because of a Horcrux."

"Will someone tell me what the bloody hell a Horcrux is" Ron snapped losing his patience.

Harry sighed a bit "A Horcrux is an object in which one places a piece of their soul into. Should they be attacked and their body destroyed… they cannot die."

Ron's eyes widened "And Voldemort made one?"

Harry shook his head "Not one… six."

Ron's eyes widened even further "So let me see if I got this straight. Voldemort made six Horcrux's concealing six pieces of his soul into objects so essentially we have to kill all six pieces to him for good."

"Pretty much" Ginny responded.

Ron took a deep breath through his nose "Okay then" he clapped his hands. "Do you have any of them?" They shook their heads "Do you know what they look like?" Once more they shook their heads "Do you know how to destroy them?"

"Not exactly, but two of them are destroyed" Harry told him. Ron urged him to continue. "Remember the Chamber of Secrets in second year? The diary was a Horcrux and I destroyed it with a Basilisk fang and another one Dumbledore destroyed so we only have four to look for."

"Okay, that's something" Ron said. "What was the one Dumbledore destroyed?"

"A ring" Harry responded.

"A diary and a ring… so it's safe to assume that a Horcrux can be anything" Ron said before cursing. "Great, just fucking great" he muttered. "Did… Did Dumbledore give you any idea on how to destroy them?"

"… No" Harry admitted softly.

Ron looked like he was two seconds away from strangling them so he breathed in deeply again and thought "Okay I don't know where to begin when finding them, but I think I might have an idea on how to destroy them."

"What is it" Ginny asked immediately.

"Harry destroyed the diary with a Basilisk fang, so technically he destroyed it with basilisk venom, something ultra-rare in the magical world" Ron began. "Basilisk venom has only one cure, phoenix tears and other than that it is something that cannot be healed by normal magical means. I think a Horcrux is the same thing."

Harry and Ginny caught on "A Horcrux can only be destroyed by something that is beyond magical repair" Harry said. "Brilliant Ron, absolutely brilliant."

Ron shrugged with a small grin "It's been known to happen." He sighed a bit "We'll worry about how to destroy them later; before you left did Dumbledore tell you anything else about the Horcrux's?"

Harry was quiet for a moment "He said… if I search deep inside myself I can find them."

Ron looked at Harry as if he had flobberworms coming out of his ears "Yeah, it wasn't very helpful" Ginny said seeing Ron's look. Ron rubbed the bridge of his nose to wane off an inevitable headache. "Especially considering your Occlumency lessons last year."

"Occlumency" Ron said turning back to them.

Ginny nodded "Yes, Harry was having awful visions caused by Voldemort so Dumbledore had Snape teach Harry Occlumency to help shield his mind. It's the reason new all ran off to the Department of Mysteries because Voldemort tricked Harry with visions of him torturing Sirius."

Ron stared at them before his eyes slowly widened "That's it" he said.

"What's it" Harry said confused.

"Harry, Dumbledore said in order to find the Horcrux's you have to look inside yourself" Ron said grabbing him by the shoulders. "He meant use whatever connection you have with Voldemort to your advantage. Look into his mind, find the Horcrux's and we can end this."

Harry was shocked and so was Ginny "But that's dangerous" she said worried for her lover.

"It's the only shot we've got" Ron said gently. Looking back at Harry "Do it Harry, look inside of him, find the Horcrux's and once we find them, we end this war." Harry looked noticeably pale before he breathed in steadily and closed his eyes. A few minutes later he began shaking and sweating.

Ron and Ginny gently lowered him to the ground as Harry continued to twitch slightly before he began panting. After about a minute Harry opened his eyes with a gasp "Are you okay" Ginny asked gently putting her palm to his cheek.

Harry continued to pant slightly before he calmed down "I saw a few of them… a locket… Slytherin's locket and… a cup… I think it's Hufflepuff's cup."

"Where" Ron asked imploringly.

"The cup… it's in Gringotts and the locket… I saw it at Grimmauld Place" Harry said.

Ron and Ginny looked at each other "Grimmauld Place first, we worry about Gringotts later" Ron said. Ginny nodded and leaving Harry to rest a bit they packed up the tent and their belongings. Once they did they all linked hands "Alright I've never been there before so I'm trusting you guys to get us there."

"I got it" Harry said before concentrating. The three of them vanished in a pop.

When they reappeared Ron saw that they were outside a muggle suburb in London. His first thought was that this couldn't be the right place until he saw Ginny and Harry heading up for the door. Shrugging he decided to just go with it and followed them inside. "Hello" Ginny called.

No one replied "Looks like no one's home" Ron said. "What is this place anyway?"

"Oh right, you were never here before" Harry realized. "This is Sirius' family home. It's been used as Headquarters for Dumbledore's secret group, the Order of the Phoenix."

"Hmm" Ron hummed at the new piece of information. "Anyway, enough talking, let's find the locket." Immediately the three of them went about searching for the locket. They tore through room after room until they heard a loud crash followed by Ginny's scream. Both boys immediately rushed upstairs and burst through a room to see Ginny being attacked by something "Stupefy" they both roared and the thing was launched off of her and flew into a wall.

While Harry went to check on Ginny Ron moved over to the creature. Keeping his wand on the thing he rolled it over and saw it was a house elf with something clutched in its hand. Reaching out he took the object and saw it was a small golden locket with a curved 'S' on it.

"I just found the locket when that house elf attacked me out of nowhere" Ginny said standing up.

"Kreacher" Harry glared marching over pointing his wand at the elf.

"Wait" Ron said grabbing Harry's arm. "If he attacked Ginny because she had the locket it means that the locket means something to it. Before you do anything let's find out what." Harry very reluctantly lowered his arm. Ron moved over to Kreacher and with a wave of his wand said "Rennervate."

The house elf known as Kreacher awoke and upon seeing the locket lunged for Ron only for Ron to plant his foot on Kreacher's chest holding him down. "Master Regulus' locket" the house elf screeched. "Give back Master Regulus' locket."

"QUIET" Ron said in such a forceful tone that it made everything go quiet. "Now" he said in a more gentle tone. "Why is this locket so important to you?" In a complete emotional breakdown Kreacher explained the whole tale to them about Regulus Black, Sirius' younger brother, and his plan to steal the Horcrux and before he died he ordered Kreacher to destroy it, but Kreacher could not do it no matter how much he tried.

All three of them looked sympathetic "We can destroy it" Ginny said in a gentle tone making Kreacher look up abruptly.

"She's right" Harry said in a tone that was much gentler as well. "We can fulfil your Master Regulus' last command." It was right then and there that Kreacher looked upon them all with something other than disgust and mistrust… it was hope.

Leaving Grimmauld Place the three found themselves back in the forests where no one could see them or bother them "We got the locket… but how do we destroy it" Ginny wondered.

"We'll worry about that later" Ron said stowing the locket in his cloak. "Right now we need to work on a plan to get into Gringotts for the cup."

"Yeah one problem with that" Harry said. "There are thousands of vaults in Gringotts; which one is the right one."

"If it's a piece of his soul he'd entrust it to the vault of one that has never failed him and always remained loyal" Ron said.

"Bellatrix" Ginny said getting the attention of both boys. "Bellatrix has been Voldemort's most radical supporter and not once has she ever failed him except for those times against you Ron. There's no other death eater that he trusts more than her."

"Great, we got a lead" Ron said. "But now we need to figure out how to get in."

It took about a day and a half to come up with a plan and eventually they did. The three of them were now in Diagon Alley hidden next to the bank. "Alright with luck Voldemort hasn't quite taken over the bank" Ron said. "You two go in under the invisibility cloak and on my signal you follow me, if it's a bust, we get out, escape and come back another day."

"You and your plans" they both muttered before hiding under the invisibility cloak. Ron walked in through the door with Harry and Ginny sneaking in behind him. Ron walked tall and proud displaying no hints of nervousness. His Garrison Cloak was hidden and the Heart of the Dragon tucked into his shirt. He approached the front.

"I wish to enter my vault" he said calmly.

"Identification" the goblin said without looking up from his work.

"I doubt that's necessary" Ron said calmly.

The goblin looked up "Master Weasley" he said quickly. "What may I do for you today?"

"I wish to visit my vault" Ron said arms crossed.

"And do you have your key" the goblin asked.

Hastily transfiguring something in his pocket Ron pulled a key out "Right here" he said.

"Very well Master Weasley, if you will follow me" the goblin said. Ron nodded and gave the signal, a rub to his neck, to Ginny and Harry and the two of them followed Ron into the room where they all got into the cart.

Once the cart was started and they were out of view from any eyes Ron pulled his wand out "Imperio" he said and the goblin became all glassy eyed and happy looking. The cart promptly turned down another path "And there we go."

Ginny and Harry took the invisibility cloak off. "That was it" Ginny asked.

"Pretty much; getting past the front desk was the hardest part" Ron said. "Now it's just smooth sailing from here on." Sure enough they got down to the vault, but when they saw its protection it was nothing to scoff at.

"Did your plan involve getting past a Ukrainian Ironbelly" Ginny hissed at him as the large dragon begun to notice them.

"Not really" Ron grunted looking around hastily. Spotting some clankers on the ground he hastily grabbed one and acting on instinct he shook it creating a loud clanking noise. The dragon screeched and skirting back as if expecting some excruciating pain to follow. "Looks like it's been… domesticated."

"Hoe cruel" Ginny said angrily as Ron continued to use the clankers and get them through. Once through Harry used the goblins hand to open the vault where they got inside just as the dragon launched its flame.

"Lumos" they all said lighting up the room. The room was filled with many treasures and lots of gold. Harry was searching for the Horcrux as he felt a pull to it like he did when he first saw the locket. Ginny suddenly screamed making them both jump as they turned to see her clutching her hand while a goblet fell to the floor and began to multiply.

"Stop" Ron said to both of them as he saw Harry began to rush towards her. "They've added the Gemino and Flagrante Curse; everything that's touched will burn you and multiply." They both went still "Okay, Harry continue looking for the Horcrux and if it's high up tell me. Meanwhile Ginny, don't touch anything and just stay still."

They decided to just do as he said and Harry continued his search. After a few minutes he soon spotted a cup on a very high shelf and he felt the same sensation he felt with the locket. "I see it, but it's way too high" he said.

"Okay" Ron said moving over carefully to avoid touching anything. Harry stepped back as Ron stepped forward. Lifting his hand Excalibur formed in his palm and Ron stood up on the very tips of his toes and reached out with his sword and just barely managed to get the tip of the blade through the handle and pull it down. "I've got it; let's get out of here."

Using the goblin to unlock the door Ron picked up the clanker and began making the noise again getting the dragon to back off in fear of expecting pain allowing them enough time to get back to the cart. Once there they were on their way out. Ginny and Harry hastily covered themselves with his invisibility cloak as they got to the top.

Once out of the cart they got back to the front "Thank you again" Ron said to the goblin before he released the Imperius Curse on the goblin leaving him slightly dazed. Before he could remember anything Ron had already left the bank with Harry and Ginny and the three of them were long gone away from the bank and Diagon Alley.

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flames will be ignored.


	15. Chapter 15

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter Fifteen)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Having escaped from Gringotts unharmed they decided to head back to the forest and out of civilization for a bit. Back in the forest with their tent set up the three of them were resting.

Harry walked up and sat by Ron "Not that I'm not complaining and all, but why are you here with us? Shouldn't you be with the others… your Garrison I mean?"

Ron was quiet for a moment as he remembered the event that made him make the decision in the first place. "The Death Eaters attacked Hogwarts."

Harry looked very alarmed "What" he said shocked.

Ron looked at him "The Death Eaters attacked Hogwarts" he repeated. "The moment we left I knew they would attack the castle sooner or later and they did. We came back and dealt with them, but not without a price." Taking a breath Ron said "Dumbledore is dead."

Harry looked as if he was punched in the gut by Ginny "No" he whispered.

Ron nodded softly "I wish it weren't true, but it is." Ron then explained to Harry about the plan for them to stay out of the public eye until the time was right and then when it was time the Garrison would rise again and Voldemort would fall. "So while they're in hiding with their families I'm out here helping you guys find these Horcrux's and destroy them."

Harry still had a devastated look on his face before he nodded "Okay" he finally spoke. Turning to Ron he gave his best friend a tight hug "Thanks mate."

Ron reciprocated "Anytime mate." Even after all this time they were still the best of friends. Lots of time had passed as the three of them tried figuring out ways to destroy the Horcrux other than using Basilisk Venom.

Eventually all three of them got incredibly frustrated. "I don't suppose you know where we can find some Basilisk Venom" Ginny asked.

"Not unless you want to go back to the Chamber of Secrets" Ron replied without tact. Seeing Ginny's flinch he muttered "Sorry."

"There has to be another way" Harry said. Feeling sick with himself he asked "Would the killing curse work?"

Ron shook his head "No the killing curse only works on animate objects. Damn it" he cursed punching a tree that now had a scorch mark on it because Ron unknowingly unleashed part of his fire magic. He stopped and stared at the tree "Wait a minute."

"What" Ginny said.

"I think I know a way to destroy them" Ron said quickly. "Both of you get behind me" he commanded and they did. Ron took the two Horcrux's from Harry and tossed them into a clearing. Pulling his wand out he held it up and in conjunction with his hand a flame began to form before a massive volley of flames shot from his wand and formed into a large roaring dragon.

The dragon shot towards the two Horcrux's and hit them both and the fire exploded into faces of Voldemort all screaming in rage and pain before the fire dissipated in a roar. Harry, meanwhile, had collapsed the moment the Horcrux's were hit and his mind assaulted with visions.

Voldemort had felt two of his Horcrux's being destroyed and the pain that assaulted him stunned him, but also filled him with fear and his fear induced mind immediately went over all of his Horcrux's locations unaware that Harry was connected to him at the time. Harry saw a sapphire encrusted tiara-like object hidden somewhere in a bunch of furniture along with the symbol of Ravenclaw and finally he saw a snake coiling itself up near Voldemort.

"Harry, Harry" Ginny's voice snapped Harry from his vision with Voldemort. He opened his eyes and found both Ron and Ginny hovered over him worriedly "Are you alright?"

"He knows" Harry said quickly. "Voldemort he knows. He knows what we did, he knows we destroyed them and he knows we're hunting Horcrux's."

"What, how" Ginny asked alarmed.

"I saw him, when the Horcrux's were destroyed" Harry said.

"You let him in, Harry you can't do that" Ginny reprimanded.

"Ginny, I can't always help it" Harry snapped. "Well maybe I can, I don't know."

"Never mind, what happened" Ron urged.

"Well he's angry and he's scared" Harry said. "I reckon he'll stop at nothing to make sure we don't find the rest. There's more, one of them is at Hogwarts."

"What" Ginny said trying to absorb everything.

"I saw the castle and the symbol of Ravenclaw so I bet it has something to do with Rowena Ravenclaw" Harry said. "It must have something to do with her; we've got to go there now."

"We can't just do that; we've got to plan and figure out a way in" Ron cried.

"Ron, I can count on a single hand when our plans have actually worked" Harry griped in return. "We plan, we get there, all hell break's loose."

Ron couldn't fault Harry for that as he remembered the times that all of their plans went off course "Fine, but since Dumbledore's dead we can't just walk through the front door and in case you haven't remembered Snape's the headmaster now and no doubt his supporters have taken over other parts at the castle. That place isn't a school anymore, it's a fortress."

"We broke into Gringotts didn't we; we can break into a school" Ginny said. "We can use Hogsmeade."

"She's right" Harry said. "The secret passageway under Honeyduke's cellar will lead us right into the castle." They had their destination in mind so they set out.

When they got to the nearest village they discovered that a lot of time had passed since they had been on the run. It was now October; they couldn't believe that they had spent that much time on the road. Who knows what Voldemort had been doing the last few months since the death of Dumbledore?

Finally they arrived in Hogsmeade in the dead of night since it would be easier to sneak in during that time. But immediately after they did a horrible screeching noise sounded out "The Caterwauling Charm" Ron realized "Run!" they immediately took off for the alleys as Death Eaters and Dementors began filling the grounds.

They hid behind building after building, but Death Eaters and Dementor's kept getting too close for comfort until "In here" they heard. Turning they saw an old man with his door open "Hurry up" he hissed. Deciding to take it they ran inside and hid behind the walls when the Death Eaters came. They heard the man explain that he accidently set the alarm off when he let his cat out for the night. It seemed to work as the Death Eaters and Dementor's left. "They're gone."

They came out "Thanks for that" Ron said to the man.

"Yeah, you're damn lucky" the man said to them stepping into the light. They almost blinked, although the man had some rough features and almost had a small appearance of a goat… he looked almost exactly like Albus Dumbledore.

"You're Aberforth right" Harry asked. "Dumbledore's brother."

The man nodded "That I am, but I doubt that is your main priority. What are three children doing here, more specifically Harry Potter and the Leader of the Dragon's Garrison?"

"You know who we are" Ron asked.

"Only muggles and blind, deaf and dumb fools don't know about you two" Aberforth grunted. "I don't know what you're doing here nor what you're planning, but my advice, go home and live a little longer."

"After everything I've been through; I can't just go home" Ron said.

"Then you're marching to your death son" Aberforth said to him bluntly. "I know you're powerful as is your Garrison, there's no doubt about it. There's not a wizard your age can match your skills and individually you can take on any death eater. But tell me something boy, how do you, a leader of four, plan on taking on over a 1000 Death Eater, creatures and You-Know-Who himself at once?" Ron was silent as Aberforth said that "It won't be a fight… it will be a massacre." Spotting the ring on Ron's hand he also added "Besides you've got a sweat heart waiting for you. Are you going to die leaving her alone?"

"She wouldn't be alone" Ron finally said in a soft tone. "She's my second-in-command of the Garrison." Ron's blue eyes bore into Aberforth's "Look, I started this group because of four witches and wizards that did not want to be forced into slavery and I've kept my promise. We've never lost, we've always come out on top and we're going to keep fighting. I don't care if people don't believe in us, I don't care if you've given up. I cannot betray the ones who put all their faith in me."

The stare off continued before Ron said "We need to get into the castle tonight."

Aberforth stared for a minute longer before turning to the portrait of a little girl and said "You know what to do" in a soft tone. The girl nodded with a smile and left the portrait.

"Where's she going" Ginny asked.

"You'll see" Aberforth said before getting up and leaving. Before he left he said "Hey boy" to Ron. Ron turned to him "If you insist upon dying… then die with honor."

"I plan to" Ron said before Aberforth left.

"Ron" Ginny said grabbing his arm. "You don't really plan to die do you?"

Ron didn't answer for a moment as he looked away before speaking "It's a high chance Ginny; his forces outnumber us about 15 to 1. All I can promise is that I'll try not to die." She hugged him tightly while Harry watched on silently.

The little girl came back and the portrait swung open to reveal "Neville" Harry gasped. "You look –"

"Like hell I reckon" Neville grinned slightly. It's true he was pretty bruised, disheveled, had a black eye and a large slash wound on his cheek. "This is nothing, Seamus is a lot worse. Anyway, best not dawdle, come on." They all climbed through the portrait and followed Neville down a dark tunnel.

"Don't remember this on the Marauder's Map" Ron said.

"That's because it never existed until now" Neville said. "We sealed off the seven secret passageways before the start of the year. This is the only way in or out of the castle. The grounds are crawling with Death Eaters and Dementor's; no one leaves the castle without getting the Dementor's kiss."

A collective shudder ran through them all "How bad is it with Snape as Headmaster" Ginny asked.

"Hardly ever see him" Neville said. "It's the Carrow's you got to watch out for."

"The Carrow's" Harry said confused.

"Brother and Sister, Amycus and Alecto Carrow" Neville said. "Teachers of Muggle Studies and Dark Arts and also in charge of discipline. They like discipline."

"And they did that to you" Ginny said with a horror in her voice. "Why?"

"Today's muggle studies was on anti-muggle propaganda and I asked her how much muggle blood she had in her" Neville said.

"Blimey Neville, there's a time and a place for a smart mouth" Ron said. He couldn't believe Neville had mouthed off like that; Neville of all people.

"Perhaps" Neville said. "But now that you guys are back it's time for revolution. When we get there I'll get the word out to the Order and everyone else who's in hiding. It's time we take the castle back."

"Then you better get the word out quick; we don't have much time" Ron told him knowing that Voldemort was on his way to the castle very soon. It didn't take them long to get to the end of the tunnel and when they did Neville announced their presence to all the students willing to fight.

Needless to say they were on the receiving end of very happy greetings from very happy students. While one student went out to spread the word Harry informed every one of the situation. While he did that Ron went off to a different part of the room.

The mark on his left arm disappeared when Dumbledore died, but Ron's Garrison Mark remained. Ron pressed his wand to the mark and it lit up "Attention all Garrison, be at the Hogwarts grounds in exactly ten minutes. The final battle is upon us, they are coming."

Ending his message Ron went back and was informed by Ginny "The Death Eaters reported the incident to Snape; he's called everyone into the Great Hall."

Ron cursed; he needed to time this just right. "Find a robe, disguise yourselves in with the students" he said to her. When she nodded Ron went over to Harry "Harry, when you said you saw something of Ravenclaw's what did it look like?"

"A sort of tiara-like crown… sapphire studs" Harry said.

"What was it surrounded by" Ron asked quickly.

"A bunch of furniture, kind of like what I saw in the room of requirement beforehand" Harry replied.

Ron got an idea 'It's a longshot, but it's all I've got.' Ron pretended to dress like the rest of the students and follow them out, but in actuality he waited until they all left and when they did Ron immediately changed the Room of Requirement to better fit his needs. When he opened his eyes he saw a large pile of furniture in the middle of the room. Running over to it Ron quickly looked around for anything the resembled a tiara, opening boxes and showing them around until he found a small red box.

Opening it up he saw a sapphire encrusted tiara-like object, more of a diadem than anything. Picking it up he could feel dark magic emanating from the object. Knowing he found the Horcrux Ron threw it to the ground and conjured the Fiendfyre once more. The Fiendfyre destroyed the diadem and once more Ron saw the mangled part of Voldemort's soul take control of the fire only this time it threatened to destroy him.

But Ron wasn't a fire mage for nothing and with a wave of his want he destroyed the fire "One to go" he said before exiting the Room of Requirement. Exiting the Room of Requirement and avoiding the gazes of any of the Death Eaters Ron snuck downstairs and once he got down there he snuck out to the courtyard and it didn't take long for everyone to arrive.

He saw them arrive one by one, but his eyes locked on one when they all did. "Ron" Daphne cried running up to him. Ron caught her in his arms as they embraced each other. Similarly Ron exchanged greetings with Theo, Tracey and Blaise.

"Good to see you son" Nicholas greeted him shaking hands with Ron.

"You guys came as well" Ron said surprised.

"Save your chitchat for later; let's go people" Alastor Moody grunted. With a nod Ron led everyone into the castle, but not the great hall. He signaled for everyone to wait until Harry made his move. Soo enough Harry began to speak inside the hall amidst the many gasps and cries of shock.

"It seems despite your exhausted strategies you seem to have a security problem headmaster" Harry had said. That was when Ron pushed the doors open and everyone marched in wands drawn; the entire Garrison and Order was there plus a few more. "I'd say it's quite an extensive one" Harry said as the students stared in awe. "How dare you stand where he stood. Tell them how it happened; tell them how you looked him in the eye, a man who proclaimed that he trusted you and killed him."

Snape drew his wand, but in a flash Ron and McGonagall were in front of Harry wands pointed at him. Snape seemed to hesitate for a split second before raising his wand once more. McGonagall reacted first and began shooting flames at Snape. Snape blocked them, but McGonagall was ruthless in her attacks; Ron merely stood behind her keeping Harry safe as she continued to blast at Snape.

Finally Snape seemed to have enough as he, and the Carrow's, both wisped themselves away in black smoke out the window making their escape. "Cowards" McGonagall roared.

Even though he escaped the students all let out loud cheers, except the Slytherins, as their tormentor's were finally gone. Ron waved his wand and the torches all lit up getting even more cheers from the students.

But their cheers were short-lived as suddenly a very dastardly cold feeling seemed to descend upon them. Harry looked woozy as he swayed and was supported by Ginny; the skies began thundering and suddenly the sound of screaming echoed throughout the hall. It was a girl, who was no older than 11 screaming on the floor huddled up with her hands over her ears. Another scream soon followed and then… they heard it.

"I know that many of you will want to fight. Some of you may even think that to fight is wise, but this is folly. Give me… Harry Potter. Do this and none shall be harmed. Give me… Harry Potter and I shall leave Hogwarts untouched. Give me… Harry Potter and you will be rewarded. You have until midnight" the high, cold voice of Voldemort echoed all throughout the castle grounds and through every single corridor.

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flames will be ignored.


	16. Chapter 16

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter Sixteen)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

The moment after the message was delivered everyone was completely silent. It still rang fresh in their minds seemingly freezing them in a way only a Dementor could. "What are you waiting for; someone grab him" the voice of Pansy Parkinson shouted pointing at Harry.

Ron and Ginny immediately moved in front of Harry. And then the rest of the Garrison moved in front of them pointing their wands at Pansy. All was silent as they had a stare off the tension was broken by a shout of "Students out of bed… students out of bed… students out of bed" from Filch getting louder and louder with each repeat as he got to the Great Hall.

"They are supposed to be out of bed you blithering idiot" McGonagall snapped.

"Oh… sorry ma'am" Filch said looking rather sheepish now.

"As it turns out your arrival is most opportune Mr. Filch" McGonagall said. "Of you would please escort Ms. Parkinson and the rest of Slytherin House out of the Great Hall."

"And where is it exactly that I will be escorting them too ma'am" Filch asked.

"The dungeons should do" McGonagall replied.

"Hold on" the voice came shockingly from Ron stopping everyone. "Locking them in the dungeon is just asking for death. When Voldemort invades the castle he's not going to discern house from house or student from student. He's just going to kill everyone inside." He looked to the Slytherins "Against his forces… we can't do it alone… we need all FOUR houses to defeat him."

"You expect us to fight and die without cause" a blond Slytherin boy glared at him.

Ron shook his head "No, every capable wizard here of N.E.W.T. level is free to stay and fight as they please. Just before this fight begins I just want to end it all; this stupid house rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin. So we all have different views… at the end of the day… we're all wizards and witches and humans."

He could see some of the Slytherins were indeed listening "You don't have to stay and fight. Those who wish to leave, follow Neville to the Seventh Floor and to the Hall of Hexes. There is a passageway that leads out of Hogwarts and into Hogsmeade. Those who wish to stay, prepare for combat."

Immediately after saying that Ron turned to his Garrison "Tracey, how many of the enemy are there." He asked her because he knew her; he knew she was still keeping tabs on Voldemort.

"1000 standing strong" Tracey responded. "Death Eaters, Giants, Dementor's, Acromantula's and…" she gulped a bit as she said this. "About three Manticore's and two Basilisks."

Everyone widened their eyes as they heard that "Then we've got no time to waste. Tracey, Blaise let's secure the castle, Daphne assist Neville in clearing out all students younger than sixteen and Theo, take Seamus and Dean and blow the back bridge so no one can get in through the back."

"Got it" they all shouted and rushed off. Ron led Tracey and Blaise outside of the castle and taking a triangle formation around each other they pointed their wands in the air.

"Protego Maxima, Fianto Duri, Repello Inimicum" they all chanted and repeated the chant at least five times before the barrier covered all of the Hogwarts grounds. While they did that McGonagall brought the statues outside the Great Hall to life and had them march down the causeway to defend the end of the castle.

Neville and Daphne were hastily getting the first-fifth year students out of the castle. Theo along with Dean and Seamus set up explosives all throughout the bridge and once they did Theo shot water into the canyon and flooded it and then cast a raging spell on the water to make it swirl rapidly so if anyone even tried crossing it by swimming then they'd drown before reaching the other side.

Once Theo finished that the three wizards shot the pyrotechnics and the bridge was blown up. "Nice" all three of them grinned before running back into the castle.

Thanks to Ron everything was getting organized smoothly as the students were being evacuated. Students who had long graduated or were on the run returned to fight and were being sent to various places in the castle to defend it.

Ron caught Harry before he could run off "Ron, I need to find the Ravenclaw Horcrux; I don't have time to talk."

"Don't bother; I already found it in the Room of Requirement" Ron told him. "The only one left is the snake and we can't do anything about that until Voldemort attacks the castle. For now, just get yourself in a vantage point and get ready to fight."

Harry looked at him before nodding "Alright" he said before running off to a vantage point. Ron meanwhile ran back out into the courtyard just as an otter climbed over the ledge and transformed into Daphne.

"What's the word" he asked.

"The Death Eaters will launch the first attack; the creatures will be saved for later" Daphne informed him.

Ron nodded and faced the darkness as his Garrison stood side by side next to him. Behind him Sirius stood side by side next to Remus waiting for the battle; Remus' wife, Tonks, was at her mother and father's house as she was pregnant and could not fight.

Harry, Neville, Seamus, Dean and Colin were in the upper rafters with Kingsley "W-What happens now" Colin asked nervously.

"We wait" Kingsley said still staring at the barrier. As he said that the barrier was suddenly bombarded by spells.

Colin turned back to the barrier and gulped slightly "Mr. Shacklebolt." Kingsley hummed showing he was paying attention "This… this is probably nothing, but… I'm just… I don't know… if something should happen to me. My little brother, my parents. It's just something on my mind… it's bothering me."

Kingsley turned to him with a small smile "You'll get through. Don't worry son; I can always tell. I know the type that gets through and you're –" Kingsley was cut off when a massive spell completely destroyed the barrier.

The Battle of Hogwarts had begun.

Ron put his want to his temple and muttered "Thermo." His vision was now in pure grey and anything alive he could see was glowing in white. He saw Death Eaters and Giants flying and running towards the castle.

Releasing the spell Ron yelled to his Garrison "This is where we hold them. This is where we fight. This is where they die." His Garrison gave a roar in return "Remember this day dragons for it will be yours for all of time."

The Death Eaters came first and they all fired spell after spell hitting the death eaters out of midair while some shot past them into the castle. On hour later and some of the giants broke through the statues. "Blaise, do it" Ron bellowed blocking a spell from two Death Eaters.

"Caladbolg" Blaise roared and the spiral sword appeared in his hand. The blade began to rotate and Blaise swung it with a mighty roar and a rainbow-like arc appeared from its blade, all the giants that made it through lost their heads… literally.

Theo and Tracey were fighting back to back attacking and defending and using their water powers to freeze the water in the air into sharpened needles and pierce any who attacked. Daphne was flying through the air all around the castle picking off Death Eaters who did not spot her. Ron ran throughout the castle supporting everyone he came across.

People were screaming and shouted curses or dying breaths; it was so loud no one could possibly hear themselves think. It may have been hours later or maybe even mere minutes when all of a sudden on an island off the coast of the black lake suddenly shot a lightning bolt into the air stopping all fighting.

Then everyone heard Voldemort speak again "You have fought valiantly, but in vain. I do not wish this. Every drop of magical blood spilt is a terrible waste. I therefore command my forces to retreat; in their absence dispose of your dead with dignity. Harry Potter I now speak directly to you. On this night you have allowed your friends to die for you. There is no greater dishonor. Join me in the forbidden forest and confront your fate. You have one hour. Ronald Weasley, this time I speak to you. All the troubles you have caused me will now be paid back in double; with the power of the elder wand… I shall destroy you."

And like that everything went silent; the Death Eaters retreated leaving the castle silent. Ron was at the back of the school when he heard the message and so he took the long walk back to the front of the school. As he passed he saw the corridors in ruin; halls he walked by for class everyday were destroyed, but he had yet to see any bodies.

When he got to the Great Hall… that changed. Bodies lined the Great Hall; he saw bodies lined up on the ground being assessed or covered. A sense of numbness filled Ron as he stared at the bodies. Looking forward he saw, with selfish relief, that Daphne and her parents were okay. Then he blinked slightly; Astoria was here as well and was tending to an injury on Nicholas' arm with her mother.

"NOOOOOOO" the shout of absolute pain and horror seemed to startle everyone in the Great Hall. If Ron hadn't of seen it he wouldn't believe that such a sound of pain could have come from Colin Creevey. The mousy haired boy had ran to Oliver Wood, who was carrying a body in. Colin snatched the body right from Oliver and cried in agony as he held the even smaller body of his little brother Dennis. It was apparent that the boy had snuck into the castle to help his brother; he looked even tinier in death.

No one said anything as they just watched the young boy sob over his little brother's body. A dull ache made its way to Ron's stomach as he watched before he walked over to Colin and crouched down next to him. He gently comforted the weeping boy "Let's close his eyes" he said softly and reached out to gently close Dennis' eyes. "There… now he could be sleeping."

Colin still continued to sob quietly before he spoke "I want to bury him… properly." Choking a bit he finished "Without magic."

Ron nodded to him "And we well; everyone who has fallen will receive a proper burial, but for now all we can do is fight on." With that he pulled Colin to his feet "On your feet soldier." Colin breathed in sniffling slightly before nodding and wiping his eyes "Heads up, I want anyone who can move to grab a body and follow me."

Colin picked up his little brother's body while Ron turned and spotted a body. Another dull blow hit him as he saw it was the mangled body of Lavender Brown. The injuries on her body all pointed to Greyback's work. Picking her body up Ron made his way out of the Great Hall and up the stairs.

After getting to the first flight he saw people following him with all of them carrying bodies. Going up seven flights he passed through the almost collapsed corridor to the Room of Requirement. Walking by three times he thought 'I need a place for the dead! I need a place for the dead! I need a place for the dead.'

The door appeared and swung open revealing hundreds of cots' one by one everyone entered and deposited the bodies into the cots. And once they did Ron said "Madam Pomfrey." The school nurse turned to him "Would you put preservation spell on all the bodies?"

"Of course" she said.

"You're also the school's only medic; I think it be wise if you remain here away from harm" Ron said. Once more she nodded and after that they left and on the way down Ron saw Harry also making his way downstairs with a melancholic, betrayed, but accepting look in his eyes. "Where are you going?"

"I have to take care of something" Harry said tonelessly.

Ron recognized that tone "What kind of 'something?'"

Harry didn't answer before speaking "Just kill the snake and then you and your garrison can kill Voldemort. I have to do this; it's the only way we can win." Ron didn't say anything except grasp hands with Harry and with a look that said more than any words could Harry departed.

Ron could only watch him go and after that he just stood in the courtyard waiting… waiting for the next wave to come. Sure enough daybreak on the morning of October 28th, 1997 is when Ron saw the Death Eaters marching.

"Thermo" he said putting his wand to his temple. He counted almost fifty Death Eaters and saw one large body heat carrying another. "Hagrid" he whispered and disengaged the spell as everyone else came out. Soon the one leading the Death Eaters came into view… Voldemort.

"Who is that" Ginny's voice sounded out as Ron's eyes widened in horror. "Who is that Hagrid's carrying? Ron, who is it?"

The Death Eaters then surrounded one side of the courtyard and Voldemort announced "Harry Potter… is dead."

"No, NOO" Ginny screamed; Ron barely held her back in time.

"Silence" Voldemort bellow casting a silencing charm on the entire school. "Stupid girl… Harry Potter is dead." The Death Eaters laughed in triumph as did Voldemort. "And now is the time to declare yourselves. From now on you put your faith… in me. Come!" No one moved or said anything until Ron stepped forward "Well I certainly did not expect you of all people."

"I would like to say something" Ron said in a clipped tone.

"Well then Ronald, I'm sure we'd all be interested in what you'd like to say" Voldemort said readying his wand.

"It doesn't matter that Harry's gone" he began.

"Stand down Ron" Seamus warned.

"People die all the time" Ron said even louder. "Yeah we lost Harry tonight, but he's still with all of us. Right here" he said touching his chest. "So is Dennis… Lavender and everyone else. They didn't die in vain." Turning he glared at Voldemort "But you will, 'cause you're wrong. Harry fought for us… for all of us." Drawing Excalibur Ron bellowed "It's not over."

At that moment it was as if Harry came back to life to grace everyone with his presence once more as he jumped out of Hagrid's arms shocking everyone present "Confringo" he bellowed firing the spell at the snake, but it merely bounced off and hit the death eaters behind it.

While everyone was distracted with Harry's revival and Voldemort trying to kill him Ron acted quickly "Time Alter: Double Accel" he called and sped towards Nagini. The next thing Voldemort and the Death Eaters saw was Ron appearing next to Nagini and with a single roar he sliced off the snake's head.

The power of a holy blade of pure light seemed to be stronger than the dark magic of a Horcrux. The head of Nagini went flying into the air gleaming in the light of the rising sun before disintegrating into ashes. Voldemort's scream of rage echoed all around the castle.

Voldemort shot the killing curse at Ron, who activated his time alter spell just in the nick of time that he missed death by mere centimeters. Running back he was with the others facing Voldemort and his followers as they charged.

"The Horcrux's are gone, it's up to you now Harry" Ron called to him blocking spells with the others.

"I'll lure him into the castle" Harry said quickly taking off into the castle while leaving the others to fight the Death Eaters. Inside the castle Harry met Voldemort on the staircases and they launched spell after spell at each other before meeting in a standoff. Harry launched both spells to the ceiling and it collapsed onto Voldemort. Harry took evasive action as Voldemort flew from the rubble and continued his attack.

Back in the Great Hall the battle continued. Blaise was locked in a duel with Rookwood while Theo was locked in a duel with… his own father. The two Nott's were trying to kill each other without an ounce of remorse. Tracey fought alongside her brother Ashton, against Greyback and Dolohov. Bellatrix launched a killing curse at Astoria and if it wasn't for Colin pulling her down at the last minute she would've died instantly.

"NOT MY SISTER YOU BITCH" Daphne roared at Bellatrix. She attacked Bellatrix with fury, but the Dark Witch countered her every move.

"You got lucky last time little girl and I owe you for what you did to my face" Bellatrix sneered the scar on her face becoming more prominent from when Daphne scarred her with Caliburn. Still blocking spells she cackled "I owe your bastard of a husband for robbing me of my own. Perhaps I'll return the favor."

"YOU – WON'T – TOUCH – MY – FAMILY" Daphne bellowed before she attacked even more ferociously. A sharp burst of wind shot from her left hand and snapped Bellatrix's wand in half. Then a single spell shot from Daphne's wand and it sailed underneath Bellatrix's arm and struck her right in the chest.

Bellatrix's mad look remained on her face as her sunken dark eyes seemed to get even wider before she fell to the ground never to move again. Simultaneously Blaise brought down Rookwood and Tracey and Ashton brought down Greyback and dealt the final blow.

"Nott, retreat" Dolohov bellowed vanishing. One by one the Death Eaters began to leave; Nott gave a glare to his son before vanishing as well. Theo watched him go before turning away to assess everyone else. Dolohov reappeared by Voldemort as he and Harry paused their duel. "My lord, we have lost too much; Rookwood, Greyback and Bellatrix are dead. We must retreat."

"NO" Harry bellowed "Bombarda."

Voldemort let out a roar of fury that shook the entire castle and pushed Harry off the ledge where he fell a whole story level where he landed on the stairs and the last thing he saw before unconsciousness hit him was Voldemort flying away.

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flames will be ignored.


	17. Chapter 17

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter Seventeen)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Three days had passed without incident; on the first of November it was incredibly quiet. Voldemort and his forces still remained outside of the Hogwarts grounds re-planning everything to take the castle and kill Harry Potter.

Voldemort was absolutely furious, but he had to reign in his temper; he lost many of this top Death Eaters. Only one of the Lestrange's were left and Rabastan was not exactly stable since the death of his brother Rodolphus. He killed Severus to gain control of the Elder Wand, lost the most powerful Werewolf in Britain and lost Rookwood. The best Death Eaters he had left were Dolohov and Nott.

The worst part for Voldemort was that he had no more Horcrux's and he was mortal again. That scared him more than anything and he knew he could not make another Horcrux; his soul was too split and too small to possibly create another one. It would kill him.

"My lord" Dolohov said quietly snapping the dark lord from his thoughts. "It has been four days… what should we do?"

Voldemort almost killed Dolohov out of anger and instead only gave him a small dose of pain. "Never speak to me when I am thinking" he raged at the screaming Death Eater. Relenting on the curse Voldemort commanded "Take 200 and wipe them all out and bring Harry Potter to me. If you come back not victorious then the consequences will be worse than you can imagine Dolohov, do you understand?"

"Y-Yes my lord" Dolohov panted.

Back at the school everyone was still on edge; it was a very foggy November morning and everyone was on edge since there hadn't been an attack since the first one four days ago. No one wanted to risk trying to bury their dead for fear of a surprise attack so instead all they did was burn the bodies of the Death Eaters.

Theo was sitting out in the front staring out at the causeway waiting for an attack; in all honesty he was a little distracted. His confrontation with his father during the battle brought up bad memories. "How you doing Theo" the voice of Tracey said startling him slightly.

"Fine I guess" he responded a moment later as she sat next to him.

"Then why do you look so bummed" she asked concerned.

Theo sighed slightly looking up at the grey sky "I guess… seeing my father for the first time in a while three days ago and… dueling against him… brought back some very unpleasant memories."

"Theo" she said softly touching his shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it? You know I'll always listen."

Theo looked at her "If you don't mind… I'd like to talk about it" he said in a soft tone. Tracey grabbed his hand and gave it a soft squeeze. "My father, Eadric Nott, was one of Voldemort's first Death Eaters having gone to school with him. He married my mother, Connie Nott, when he was 51 and she was only 26. Three years later they had me and even though I was born a pureblood my father was incredibly impatient. He wanted to start training me to be a Death Eater since the moment I could walk. My mother didn't want that to happen and managed to stall my father for as long as she could, but when I was five my father had enough and when she tried to stop him my father killed her in a fit of rage."

Tracey gasped in horror "Oh Theo."

"I saw the whole thing and my father had no remorse for what he did" Theo continued in a dead tone. "Ever since then he forced me to train in the dark arts to follow in his footsteps. If it wasn't for Daphne and Ron… I'd be a monster like him."

Tracey pulled Theo into a tight hug "That's all behind you now Theo. You're a different person now and a better man then your father ever was."

"Tracey" Theo whispered as he stared deep into her unique amber eyes. Reaching up he gently pushed a piece of her long auburn hair out of her face. Tracey's face turned pink as she felt Theo's gentle touch; his deep violet eyes held passion in them despite his stern looking face. Next thing she noticed was Theo's face coming closer to her own; her face turned from pink to red, but she didn't attempt to push him back and found herself leaning in as well.

The sound of a throat clearing made them both jump apart. Turning they saw it was a man who was an average height of 5'10 with slick auburn hair reaching his shoulders, a narrow handsome face and darker amber eyes that looked almost orange. It was Tracey's older brother Ashton Davis.

"Morning" he said in a smooth voice. Tracey blushed in mortification and quickly left the area, but not without casting one last fleeting glance at Theo. With Theo and Ashton alone it was rather awkward with Ashton smirking at him.

"Sorry" Theo said turning away.

"Oh no don't apologize, it's quite alright" Ashton said in a teasing tone. "Mother and Father have told me about you and we know of your past. You're a good guy Theo, you don't mind if I call you Theo do you?" Theo shook his head "Anyway I'll just be blunt; you're a good guy Theo and you've looked after my baby sister for a long time. You're a good guy no matter your past."

Theo had a shocked look on his face before he gave a small smile, but before he could say anything an explosion hit the top of the castle where they stood. "Watch out" Theo shouted pushing Ashton out of the way by flinging his body at him. They both landed in a heap as Theo shouted "THEY'RE HERE."

The roar of the Death Eaters and a large gang of Snatchers came running across the causeway their voices roaring giving out large battle cries. They couldn't just fly or Apparate in since an Anti-Apparition Jinx had been placed over the castle. Ron and the rest of the Garrison came running out and upon seeing the large formation Ron shouted "Spartan Formation."

Each of them held their wands in their left hands and held their swords in their right hands. The five of them stood in a formation where they stood about ten feet from each other reaching one end of the courtyard to the other. "Protego Erector" they all shouted holding their wands in a shield formation crouched slightly. A shield erected in front of their bodies and went up for about twenty feet so none could jump over.

"Hold it" Ron bellowed as they got closer. "Steady." The Snatchers and Death Eaters were firing spells, but upon seeing that their shield held up they charged. Impacting with the shield they attempted to push them all down and overwhelm them, but the Garrison stayed standing even though they were sliding across the ground trying to hold them. They kept pushing back as hard as they could.

"That the best you can do" Theo roared at them as he continued to push.

"Push, push" Blaise bellowed. They sure as hell continued to push as hard as they could even though they continued to be pushed back. The others behind them couldn't believe the five of them were holding that many back, but got ready to launch spells to rescue them at a moment's notice. But then something amazing happen. Just as they were about to hit the steps that led into the castle… they stopped.

Having been able to hold them back the Garrison pushed the whole row back and disabling the shield temporarily they all swung their swords and an arc of light slashed through the entire front row. Acting quickly they stepped forward and brought the shield up again as the Death Eaters attacked and held them off.

"Push" Daphne called and they did. Pushing them back they repeated their actions. Slashing and stabbing at any Death Eater and Snatcher that their swords could reach. Ron roared as he mercilessly slashed down each and every one of them that got close enough. Bringing their shield up they repeated their action and continued pushing them back. It was like a domino effect and it was proving that the Death Eaters were truly insane.

After all the definition of insanity was repeating an action and expecting a different result.

A couple people behind them dropped their wands in sheer shock seeing five people tear through the Death Eaters and walking over their corpses to continue their fighting. Tracey slashed through another one and bellowed "No prisoners."

The Garrison roared in agreement "No mercy" Ron also bellowed getting another roar of agreement. With their numbers thinning they broke the Spartan formation and then it began. "Time Alter: Double Accel."

His spell now encompassing his entire Garrison they were free to run in blurs and slash down all the Death Eaters and Snatchers they could. Since they were moving at a speed that a human eye was not capable of tracing the Death Eaters had no way of tracking their movements.

In only a single minute the original 200 forces that came to attack were reduced to just 20 when Ron stopped the spell. All five of them panted slightly but faced the last 20 remaining, now visibly scared, Death Eaters.

Theo panted as he walked up to Ron "They look thirsty" he said with a nasty smirk.

Ron chuckled with a similar smirk "Well let's give them a drink." Following his lead all five of them brought their wands up and cast the Protego Erector spell once more. "To the causeway" he called. The five of them stalked towards the Death Eaters, who backed up fearfully.

Surrounding them on all sides until their backs were to the cliff. They continued backing up unknowingly beginning to push their own comrades off the cliff, but it didn't matter. The Garrison pushed them with their shield and thanks to the Anti-Apparating Jinx on the area they couldn't get away and all of them fell to their death with their screams echoing everywhere during their fall until they disappeared into the foggy abyss below.

"Great start" Ron said still panting slightly. The five of them turned and headed back to the castle oblivious to the stares they were receiving until they heard the sound of spells being launched, even though it sounded soft.

Stopping they turned around and went wide eyed seeing hundreds of balls of light being launched at them. "Tuck Tail" either Blaise or Theo shouted, Ron couldn't tell which. Crouching down they erected their Protego Erector spell to not only shield them, but also everyone behind them. The shield was pounded relentlessly "Maxima" they all shouted increasing the spell to its maximum potential.

It was a tense standoff as they held the spell until the volley stopped coming "Recover" Ron called and they all stood back up. Everyone behind them was spared, but the ground in front of them was not as it was practically turned into a crater. Yet with a simple wave of his wand Blaise restored the ground leaving it flat again with the bodies of the Death Eaters having been blown away by the volley of spells.

Dolohov saw the whole thing and was furious "Wait for cover of nightfall and send in the wolves" he barked.

Back at the castle they noticed no one else was coming "They're turning away" Colin said quietly.

"They'll be back" Kingsley said gravely. "It's the night of the full moon. Ron" he called to the young leader. "We must prepare every defense for tonight."

"I concur" Ron agreed. "Tonight is going to be a very rough night."

"How do you suggest we prepare lad" Moody asked. At first he had passed of Ron as just a waste of space, but after seeing how well he had done and how powerful he had become in both magic and leadership Moody had complete trust in him. He also felt humbled as he had misjudged this young man and had always prided himself on being an excellent judge of character.

"We don't want to be in a large group; that's just asking for trouble" Ron said. "Since Tracey took out Greyback, that's one problem we don't have to worry about. However I suggest we move most people to the Room of Requirement for the night. It's too dangerous to have more than 30 people out."

"A sneak attack" Sirius realized.

Ron nodded "Yes, move all but our top thirty to the Room of Requirement and after that the rest of us will take positions in the rafters. Professor Lupin" he addressed the grey haired man "I'm afraid you must be put under the castle in the dungeons for tonight."

"I understand" Lupin said softly. "I would do more harm than good tonight." Ron gave him a soft, small nod and after that they could do nothing more than wait.

Nighttime came far too quickly for everyone; nearly everyone was hidden in the Room of Requirement and only the members of the Order and the Garrison were still out and hidden. Harry was particularly adamant about being able to fight and eventually they agreed. He was hidden up next to Sirius while everyone else was in various other places.

The sky was dark and the full moon was almost overhead. The growls of the soon-to-be werewolves charged into the castle and burst through the front door wands raised to start the pre-attack, but they saw no one.

They all growled looking around, but were foolish enough to not look up. Before the weariness had taken effect the mad lord had sent his beasts after them; Voldemort took the bait.

"DRAGONS, ATTACK" Ron roared. The five of them jumped down from the rafters in different parts of the castle and blasted many werewolves before they could even comprehend what was happening. That was the cue and everyone else jumped down from the rafters and began their own attack. It was more of a brawl than an official battle.

While the attack had caught the werewolves off guard they had begun to recover and grabbed whoever they could and brought them down to the ground to kill them. It didn't take long for the full moon to come out and all the standing werewolves began to transform. Hastily the garrison pulled their swords out.

The werewolves attacked savagely. "Time Alter: Triple Accel" Ron roared and suddenly began moving in a blur. The blur lasted all of ten seconds as werewolves fell by the dozens until Ron suddenly collapsed panting like a dog.

Looking up in time he saw a werewolf coming for him. Barely managing to move he dodged the swipes from the claw before he was knocked to the ground. "Ron" Daphne cried running to him and just as the werewolf was about to bit Ron Daphne stabbed it through the neck making it roar as blood sprayed everywhere. Pulling her sword back she stabbed the werewolf.

She turned to him and helped him up; a nod was shared between them until Ron saw behind her. He quickly grabbed her shoulder and pulled her down as a werewolf dived over the both of them. Grasping hands together Ron and Daphne pointed their other hands at the werewolf and combined their fire and wind powers.

The werewolf was incinerated on the spot.

Similarly everything was going the exact same; the Order and the Garrison continued launching attack after attack and after a continuous barrage of superior magic and reflexes coupled with some serious sword work from the Garrison the battle was over.

Werewolves; they failed Lord Voldemort and the victory was there's. Yet as the battle ended their side was not without losses; a new day rises. They lose few, but each felled is a friend or dearest blood.

Ron collapsed against the wall wincing in pain; his legs and ribs were killing him. It felt like his tendons were going to rip all over again. "Are you alright" Daphne asked softly.

"I'm fine" he grunted. "Just leave me here until the pain goes away. Tend to the wounded and dead." She nodded and went to help the others; the causalities were not as bad as before. Only five were dead and times three wounded. Ron saw Sirius tending to Emmeline Vance and saw Tracey helping Theo with a head wound he attained in the battle.

The only dead one Ron recognized was Sturgis Podmore. His entire throat was ripped out so it looked like he at least died quickly. Once the wounded were tended to and the bodies brought to the Room of Requirement and everyone who was put in the room for their own safety brought out the celebration had begun.

"To victory and to our honored dead" Sirius said loudly as everyone held up glasses of Firewhisky. Everyone gave a loud cheer in return and downed the firewhisky. While everyone else inside took this chance to relax and have Firewhisky and let go of everything that happened Ron did not and was outside near the causeway looking out into the mountains. He knew Voldemort was out there and he also knew he had not sent his deadliest creatures for them yet and he still had well over 600 death eaters and snatchers left and their forces were only a little over 70. They were still vastly outnumbered.

Footsteps walked up next to him; Ron didn't turn to face them until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning he was more than surprised to find out that it was his mother's hand "Mum" he said surprised.

He had never really noticed that his mother looked like she had just aged about ten years in less than a year. She looked more than peaky and looked like she had lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time. "Ron… now that we have time… I want to get things between us settled."

Ron continued staring at her before nodding "Alright, go ahead." He knew where this was going, but he remained patient and just stood with his arms crossed.

Molly didn't seem to know where to begin before finally just decided to be blunt. "Ron, I've been a horrible mother to you. It took me until now to realize it. I was never there for you when you really wanted me to be and it took me until now to realize it all started when your sister was born. I may have desperately craved a daughter, but that was no excuse and what I did to you was what no mother should've done. What I'm trying to get at is… I'm sorry Ronald, sorry for everything. I know it won't mean much after the last few years, but I had to tell you… since any one of us could die today or tomorrow."

Ron was silent as he stared at his mother "I'm not gonna lie mom, what you did hurt me. It hurt me a lot. I get it; I was immature, but then again I was just fifteen, every fifteen year old is immature and every fifteen year old has fights with their friends. Although… in a messed up kind of way I guess I should thank you."

"Thank me" Molly said surprised and hurt.

"If it wasn't for what everyone did… I wouldn't be who I am right now" Ron said. "I'm a powerful wizard, I lead the only chance we have to stop Voldemort." Ignoring his mother's flinch he continued "I'm married to the most beautiful witch in the world… and I'm a future king." Seeing his mother's look made Ron's heartstrings hurt so he leaned in and hugged his mother. While surprised she hugged him back just as quickly "But you also did your best a mother to me. No one's perfect mum and the fact you actually apologized means a lot." Pulling back he smiled "When this war is over… we can start over again."

Molly smiled with some tears going down her cheeks "Okay… I would that." Ron smiled again as he hugged his mother now feeling a load lift from his heart. It felt nice to finally fix all the unresolved issues in his life.

When it was late in the afternoon another wave hit them and this time it was more than just Death Eaters; they brought in Acromantula's as well. Those facing the front bared witness to the grotesque beasts that Voldemort had under his command as the skittered forward pincers clicking ominously.

The Weasley Twins were standing at the front watching the Acromantula's coming and got identical devious smirks on their faces. Waving their wands large stones rose from the ground and they formed into sharp lances. With a huge swing the two of them launched the stone lances and they pierced right through the Acromantula's heads.

The two acromantula's continued to run as if those lances did absolutely nothing before they collapsed to the ground and skidded along the ground before coming to a stop right at the twin's feet. Smirking the twins moved onto the next fight.

Percy, who had reconciled with the family when he saw the corrupt ministry after Dumbledore's death along with the prejudice against Muggles and Muggle-borns, was fighting back to back with his father the two of them having reconciled as well.

Throughout the castle students all over the place were fighting bravely and dying honorably and their forces had actually increased a little bit when they had received a surprise before the battle had begun.

The Slytherins had come back to fight having originally left the castle. Apparently they had finally decided that if everyone could survive an entire week against the Dark Lord's forces then they actually stood a chance at winning. It was blunt and not very appreciated, but finally all four houses had united against a common enemy.

Out in the front surprisingly it was Ron and Harry that were doing most of the fighting. Finally after two and a half years of solid magical and physical training Harry was showing off his true abilities. He was blasting everything he had his sight on; no incantation came from his mouth as his wand fired spell after spell.

His wand in one hand and the sword of Gryffindor in the other hand. Whatever was far away got the business end of his wand and whatever was too close got the business end of the sword and since they found out the sword was imbedded with Basilisk Venom when they got it even if Harry only nicked someone they would die of the poison in only a moment.

Yeah it was shock when Harry took the sword from the Sorting Hat when he found it in some rubble a couple days ago. He found the sword in the hat and when he killed a Death Eater with it the Death Eater showed the signs Harry had when he was poisoned with Basilisk Venom when he was twelve. Harry was informed by Sirius that goblin-made weapons always took in substances that made them stronger.

So with that Harry wielded a poison-bladed Sword of Gryffindor and his advanced magical prowess he was balling to say the least. Ron was right next to him; the Golden Blade of the Victorious swinging through the air coated with the blood of its enemies, but still sharper than diamond.

Both of simultaneously slashed down a Death Eater and turned simultaneously and saw each other before grinning "You're still here" Harry grinned.

"Somebody's gotta watch your back" Ron grinned in return.

"Not now I'm a little busy" Harry grunted as the next wave attacked them. Blocking spells and simultaneously slashing Harry and Ron cut down more Death Eaters that came for them. Harry cast a shield charm and brought the death eater forward to stab him while simultaneously Ron knocked a death eater back and Spartan kicked him off the ledge. Turning around perfectly he continued his onslaught as did Harry as the two of them moved perfectly around each other covering their blind spots.

Then upon seeing two Acromantula's coming for them, in the heat of battle Ron forgot all about his fear of spiders, they acted. Both turning and giving their backs to the acromantula's they charged past each other as the acromantula's came for them and once they charged past each other and grasped left hand to left hand.

While that stopped their momentum it didn't stop the momentum of the acromantula's as they practically impaled themselves on the blades of the two wizards. 'Arania Exumai' they both thought blasting the beasts off their blades. Turning they saw the last few Death Eaters crossing the causeway and simultaneously tossed both of their swords impaling the two front Death Eaters in the leg stopping them in their tracks as they howled in pain.

Turning around they blocked two other spells and both launched blasting hexes to blow them away before charging back to the causeway. Ducking under the unharmed death eaters and summersaulting behind the ones with their swords in their legs the two boys pushed the death eaters in the way of killing curses. Pulling their swords out of the two corpses they stabbed the last two Death Eaters and like that the battle was over.

"Regroup" Kingsley roared out to everyone.

Harry and Ron stood up straight panting feeling tired and exhausted, but victorious as they smiled and put their arms around one another. Walking back they caught the eye of everyone they knew and loved and they smiled.

However the smile left their faces and were replaced by horror when they saw a Death Eater shoot out from the Great Hall "MUM, NOOOO" Ron wailed. Molly turned around just in time to meet the business end of a cutting curse. It was almost like in slow motion as her head rolled off her shoulders like a marble rolling off the table.

Her body slowly fell to the knees and then toppled to the side never to move again. The Weasley Family just stumbled as if in a trance their faces trembling. They didn't even notice that another wave of Acromantula and Death Eaters climb up the side of the wall, but then in a matter of three seconds it didn't matter.

The other witches and wizards could do nothing, but watch as the Weasley Clan went berserk. They screamed, roared and raged as their wands became absolute blurs as the viciously took down anything that got in their way. All everyone could do was watch the Weasley Clan decimate everything as they went wild, blood drunk.

They were all downright terrifying, but the ones who were the scariest were Arthur, Bill and Ron because the three of them especially were known for being extremely calm and not lose their temper. In less than a minute the surprise wave was dead and the panting Weasleys collapsed next to the body of their dear mother/wife.

In the silence everyone began to hear sobbing before a truly terrifying noise bellowed across the mountains. "AAAAAAUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHH, AHHHHHHHHHHH" the loud roar came from Ron himself.

Blaise, Daphne, Theo and Tracey ran forward and restrained Ron, Harry grabbed Ginny, Lee and Angelina grabbed Fred and George respectively, Remus grabbed a hold of Percy, Sirius grabbed Charlie, it took the power of Kingsley and Fleur to grab Bill and it took all of Nicholas' power to restrain Arthur.

The young king's cries of pain at the loss of his mother was more frightening to the enemy than Voldemort's cries of rage. It took the full power of his Garrison to retrain him and bring him back to the castle. The day was there's; not one toast of victory was held that night.

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flames will be ignored.


	18. Chapter 18

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter Eighteen)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

That night everything was absolutely silent as nearly everyone sat in the Great Hall trying to get over the shock of what had just happened. Arthur sat stoically and alone, but still trying to be there for his children. Fleur held Bill in her arms as the oldest tried to be strong and express his own emotions of sadness. Charlie sat with his head down and muscular arms crossed. Percy tried his best to be there for his father and siblings even as his eyes spewed tears. Fred found himself being held tightly by Alicia Spinnet as he cried in her lap while she held him tightly. Angeline was doing something similar with George as she held him tightly. Harry had Ginny in his lap as she finally succumbed to tears for the first time in a long time. Harry, too, had tears in his eyes as Mrs. Weasley was the closest thing he had to a mother.

Remus was watching them all with sadness; they were lasting long in this battle, but it seems the longer the days went on the more people close to others died. Remus walked over to Sirius to see him tying a cloth along his forehead. When he saw Sirius he noticed that his left eye was completely shot and he tied a makeshift band around it.

"You okay Sirius" Remus asked. "That um…" he swirled his finger around his eye.

"It's just an eye" Sirius said. "Being a human I was lucky to be graced with a spare."

Remus nodded "And how's Ron?"

Sirius turned to look outside the castle entrance "He mourns alone and curses Voldemort." That was pretty much it and no one bothered Ron and to make it worse the Death Eater that broke into the castle had killed Madam Pomfrey so the only healer left that knew advanced healing magic was Theo.

Daphne sat quietly with her mother and father and little sister. Astoria assisted Theo in healing as best as she could by applying bandages and cleaning wounds. Along with her mother she did that to all the injured who had to wait until Theo could get to them.

The sound of footsteps made everyone look up; they saw Ron walk in. His sword at his side and his wand clipped to his belt, but despite his warrior and imperial walk he looked horrible. His vibrant red hair seemed dulled and lifeless, his blue eyes, once warm like the morning sky were now raging like the ocean in a storm. His narrow handsome face was covered in dirt, mud and blood and his clothes were very dirty and ripped from previous battles.

Daphne stood up and approached him, but still stood some distance from him "My love" she whispered.

Ron finally spoke "I have lived my entire life with only one regret until now. It's not that my mother died defending this castle. It's just that… I never got a chance to really express all my thanks to her. To tell her I love her and to let her know that she helped make me into what I am now."

Daphne could not bear seeing such a look of sadness on her beloved's face "My heart is broken for your loss" she said softly.

"Heart" Ron said with a sardonic chuckle. His face morphed into a look that would have lesser men running to their mothers screaming "I have filled my heart with hate and vengeance." They were all silenced at his hate-filled expression.

Then the hall was filled with noise as Filch came in dragging a struggling person along with it "Get your hands off me you filthy squib." The Gryffindor's especially recognized that voice.

Ron hastily ran up and saw Filch dragging along "Malfoy" he frowned.

Filch looked especially proud of himself "I caught this boy coming out of the Room of Requirement not ten minutes ago."

"What" Ron said sharply. Filch nodded confirming his earlier statement and Ron grabbed a yelping Malfoy and threw him into the Great Hall. Plucking his wand from his waist Ron had it pointed at Malfoy just as his Garrison pulled their own wands out and did the same. "I always knew you were a weak coward, but if you did what I think you did then you're a dead man Malfoy."

"What's going on" Harry demanded running over to them.

"Filch just caught him coming out of the Room of Requirement" Ron told Harry in a clipped tone. "And I have a feeling he has something to do with the deaths today."

"I… I…" Draco stuttered pathetically.

"Fess up Malfoy. You better explain in the next five minutes what in bloody hell you were doing in there" Ron shouted at him pointing his wand right at his face. At this point Ron didn't care; he had killed hundreds and adding one more to his kill list did not bother him.

Draco was absolutely silent before he looked up and the look on his face showed someone who had been suffering for a long time. "I never wanted to join the Death Eaters, I just wanted this mess to end and go home with my parents. When my father fell from the Dark Lord's grace he took it out on all of us me included. To redeem our name he ordered me to kill Dumbledore. I didn't want to, but I had to… or he was going to kill me."

"I don't care about your history; I want to about tonight" Ron interrupted with a cold voice.

Draco gulped, but continued "The Dark Lord was angry… is angry… at all the losses he's suffered from you guys. He wanted a secret way in to catch you all off guard and he ordered me to do it. I didn't want to and so I told him I didn't know any. He tortured me… he tortured my father in front of me." At this point Draco had tears going down his cheeks "I had no choice, I showed Dolohov the secret entrance at the Hog's Head. I had to… or he was going to kill my mother."

Everyone was silent as they heard Draco's story; some had sympathetic looks on their faces, some horrified, some neutral and some murderous. The only question left was that what was Ron going to do?

"Okay Malfoy" Ron said in a much calmer tone. "You've bought yourself some time." He grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up with his wand still pointed at him. "For now" he added. Turning to Blaise Ron said "Lock him in the Slytherin Common room and put all the impenetrable charms you know around the entrance."

"Got it" Blaise said grabbing Malfoy and marching him out of the hall and down to the dungeons.

"In the meantime" Ron added a dark look coming back to his eyes "I need to send a message."

"Ron, what are you doing" Daphne asked quickly grabbing his arm.

Ron turned to her "Don't worry" he said pulling his arm free and walking out of the castle. Everyone could only watch as Ron walked across the courtyard and onto the causeway; the night crickets being the only sound he heard besides his own footsteps. Ron finally stopped halfway across the causeway. "Sonorus" he whispered before placing the tip of his wand to his neck.

"DOLOHOV" Ron's amplified voice roared. "YOU'VE DONE INJUSTICE TO MY FAMILY FOR THE LAST TIME. TOMORROW ON THE MORNING OF NOVEMBER THE THIRD COME TO THE HOGWARTS COURTYARD. I CHALLENGE YOU TO CLAN DUEL; SHOULD YOU FAIL TO SHOW UP AT 8:00 IN THE MORNING YOU WILL LOSE EVERY OUNCE OF MAGIC INSIDE YOUR BODY AND FOREVER BE REFERED TO AS A SQUIB. I'LL BE WAITING."

"Quietus" he murmured taking off the voice enhancing spell and turning back to the castle.

Back at the castle the Muggle-borns and a few half-bloods looked curious and confused while the pure bloods and the remaining half-bloods expressed extreme shock. "W-What did he do" Harry asked Ginny.

"He challenged Dolohov to a Clan Duel" Ginny said in a shocked tone.

"What's a Clan Duel" Harry asked.

"It can only happen when a wizard or witch from one clan does a great insult or injustice to another wizard or witch from another clan" Sirius explained. "The duel involves both parties dueling each other without the use of wands or magic of any kind."

Harry looked surprised "So what, a fist fight?"

Sirius shook his head "No, each of them will use a blade and the first one to strike the other one down will win the duel. If either side attempts to use magic on the other or is caught doing magic then all of their magic will be drained from their body leaving them as little more than a squib. Showing up late on the intended time of the duel will result in the same punishment. A clan duel hasn't been initiated since the 18th century. For many purebloods… it's considered a fate worse than death."

Ginny was still shocked as she watched her older brother walk back before turning to Daphne. She had a nervous look in her eyes, but also an accepting. Ron walked up to Daphne and the two of them stared into each other's eyes before Daphne nodded slightly. Ron cupped her cheeks and gently kissed her before walking away "You're okay with this" Ginny questioned her in sheer disbelief that Daphne didn't ream Ron a new one for what he just did.

"It is a decision of my husband on his honor; how could I refuse him" Daphne responded back calmly.

"He's recklessly endangering his life; how does that not bother you Daphne" Ginny exclaimed angrily.

Daphne merely stared at her calmly "A man's duty is defending the honor and purity of his own family. Protecting a man's pride… is a woman's duty." And with that she walked off leaving Ginny alone.

The night came and gone like that; Ron got no sleep at all as he stayed up all night just waiting for the morning for when he could finally release his bloodlust. He stood out in the courtyard and right as the clock tower dinged at 8 o'clock he saw Dolohov walking across the causeway and flanking him were two more Death Eaters Thorfinn Rowle and Yaxley. "You didn't come alone" Ron said.

"As if I'd expect you to hold an agreement" Dolohov sneered. "You challenge me yet I have no weapon."

Ron merely pointed his wand at Harry and the Sword of Gryffindor came flying from his waist. Ron caught the blade and tossed it to Dolohov "You do now" was all he said. Ron distinctly heard Harry cursing profusely behind him, but he ignored it. "Dispose of your wand."

With his sneer still in place Dolohov gave his wand to Yaxley while Ron gave his wand to Daphne. Ron then summoned Excalibur to his hand. Dolohov finally lost his sneer "Before we begin" he said. "Let us make a pact; the winner will allow the loser the right to have his companions leave in peace."

Ron saw right through him "There are no pacts between dragon's and men." With that Ron ripped his shirt to the side revealing the Heart of the Dragon. "Now you know who you're fighting."

"I thought it was you; you're almost the spitting image of the Prewitt twins" Dolohov said. "Regardless I gave everyone I've killed the honor of a quick death."

"You gave them the honor of your wand" Ron said coldly. "Just like you did with countless amounts of muggles and Muggle-borns. Tonight you will find yourself without your eyes, ears or tongue. You will wander the afterlife blind, deaf and dumb and all will know; this is Dolohov, the fool who angered the king."

And with that Ron held his sword in both hands facing Dolohov. Dolohov, after a second, did the same and they faced each other. Dolohov roared and charged at Ron swinging his blade haphazardly clearly showing absolutely no skill whatsoever. Ron didn't even bother blocking the strikes and instead he just dodged.

Finally he blocked an attack and kicked Dolohov in the stomach making him stumble back. Then Ron charged and attacked Dolohov swinging his blade rapidly with strength and speed. Dolohov at least had enough reflexes to block and dodge. He dodged a strike by diving to the side and scrambling to his feet. Dolohov charged again, but Ron blocked him and once he pushed the sword to the side he punched Dolohov in the face making him stumble back.

Ron continued to advance on Dolohov as the Death Eater got back up and blocked another strike from Ron until their blades held in a standoff. With a mere grunt Ron pushed Dolohov back where Dolohov tripped on a large piece of rubble and fell to the ground, the sword falling from his grip.

"Get up Dolohov" Ron commanded as he circled Dolohov who struggled to get to the sword. "I said get up; I will not let a stone take my glory." Dolohov finally got the sword and got up and he charged with a roar swinging for Ron's legs, but the seventeen year old merely lifted his leg and spun and using the momentum he sliced Dolohov's leg making the Death Eater howl and hobble back.

Easily blocking Dolohov's next rapid strikes Ron saw Dolohov was beginning to panic while Ron remained supremely calm. Dolohov got really close and Ron moved around his guard and pushed the tired Death Eater back. Dolohov stumbled back grunting at the pain in his leg before he charged again.

Twisting his body to the side Ron grabbed Dolohov's hand and yanked the sword out of it and pushed Dolohov back. Twirling his body in a twister fashion Ron stabbed the Sword of Gryffindor right through Dolohov's shoulder.

With a weak cry of pain Dolohov fell to his knees while a victorious Ron stood in front of him. "I could easily let the Basilisk Venom from the blade kill you, but unlike you Death Eaters… I'm not cruel." And with that he stabbed his blade through Dolohov's heart.

Dolohov was dead in less than a second and Ron yanked both swords from his body. Shifting Gryffindor's sword to his left hand with Excalibur Ron lifted Dolohov up wandlessly and deposited him off the side of the ledge where he fell into the abyss.

"He can rot down there with the rest" Ron said coldly not feeling an ounce of remorse for Dolohov. Turning to a visibly angry Rowle and Yaxley Ron said "This is your only chance; leave or join your comrades in the abyss."

And with that Ron turned around to leave only for Rowle and Yaxley to suddenly lunge at him and grab his arms. They were so angry they must have forgotten about their wands; just as the others drew their wands Ron shouted "Fulguratio."

Lightning seemed to burst from his body like it did from a thunder cloud. Yaxley and Rowle were painfully electrocuted and thrown from Ron's body where they landed painfully on the ground with their bodies twitching from the lightning infused attack.

Ron stood up straight his own body cackling with lightning before walking over to the Death Eaters swords held in hand. "You could've walked out alive yet you attacked me… and for what" he said softly. He looked out at the mountains where he knew Voldemort and the remainder of his forces were hiding waiting for the time.

"TO THE ONE YOU SERVE, YOUR LIVES. MEAN. NOTHING" he bellowed in anger before stabbing both Death Eaters dead.

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flames will be ignored.


	19. Chapter 19

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter Nineteen)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Almost two full months had passed since Ron's clan duel with Dolohov. The date was December 30th 1997, just two days before the start of the New Year. It was nighttime and it was very cold.

The last weeks had really worn down the castle; a lot of it was in ruins and their forces were still dwindling down very badly, but so were the Dark Lord's forces and so far they had dealt with every one of his creatures except the Basilisks and the Manticore's.

The Room of Requirement had been expanding every day as the bodies kept piling up. Towards the end of November they got a devastating loss when they lost Oliver Wood, Katie Bell, Dean Thomas and Mad-Eye as well. That was their most devastating loss throughout the entire campaign.

The survivors had turned into hardened veterans; the Garrison had remained steadfast and strong. Blaise had suffered an injury from Walden Macnair that left a permanent scar across his right cheek nearing cutting into his eye. Tracey and Daphne suffered small injuries and a near death experience when they faced the Carrow Twins on December 7th.

However Theo had it the worst on December 9th when he faced his father for the last time. Nott Sr. was a part of one of the last heavy assaults on the castle. Theo was engaged in a duel with his father for nearly two hours as they two of them just couldn't seem to finish one another off until Theo put one of Ron's first and most important lesson's to work.

The entire terrain was your weapon.

While locked in combat with a spell Theo had wandlessly launched a stone at his father's head from the back and while his father was dazed and dizzy Theo charged summoning Gram and stabbed his father in the heart, but not before he blasted Theo in the face. While Nott Sr. died Theo received a large scar on his face that went from his forehead, over his eye and down his cheek all the way to his jawline. Thankfully he was able to save his eye even though he had to wear a patch over it for almost a week.

Harry had also turned into a battle hardened warrior; his green eyes put fear into anyone who was on the receiving end of his attacks and Ginny was just as big a devil as ever as people from both sides feared her. Fred and George worked harder than ever and invented more of their products to use against anything that came for them.

But the biggest change was from young Colin Creevey; the death of his little brother already pushed him pretty far, but the constant fighting, death and killing is what began to push him over the edge. It was scary because more than half the time it took either Ron or Harry to pull him back from the brink. Shockingly he had a friend to keep him sane; it was Astoria surprisingly who kept the young boy calm.

Then a really shocking event happened when in the middle of the night on December 14th they were visited by two new people who immediately put them on guard. It was Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. They were immediately held at wand point, but shocked everyone when they dropped their wands and surrendered.

Both immediately proclaimed that they did not care anymore and just wanted to get their son. Remembering Draco's story Ron could see that his parents just didn't care about the war anymore. They only cared about their family now.

And so once more Blaise led the Malfoy's down to the Slytherin Common Room and let them in. Once inside Lucius and Narcissa immediately embraced their son and refused to let go. Blaise merely informed them that although they had left Voldemort's ranks they still couldn't be fully trusted so they would be locked in the Slytherin Common Room with the house elves bringing them nourishment until the war was over.

Now with just two days left until the New Year things were beginning to get slower as the days got colder. This winter seemed particularly cold even though there was no snow, just ice cold wind and dark grey clouds. Once more Ron stood at the entrance to the castle his dirty, blood stained red hair billowing in the wind as he stared at the mountains.

Daphne walked up to him; despite being as filthy as him Ron still thought he had never seen a more beautiful woman. "It's the calm before the storm" she whispered.

Ron nodded "According to Tracey the only real Death Eater threats that are left are Travers, Crabbe, Goyle, the imperiused Minister Pius Thicknesse and Rabastan Lestrange."

"They're no threats at all; the only threats left are the creatures and Voldemort himself" Daphne said without worry. She turned to him with a smile "If everything finishes by tonight… we can celebrate the new year and then our anniversary."

Ron turned to her "Has it already been almost a year" he said rhetorically. He grabbed her hand "I bet you didn't expect your first year of marriage to be like this did you?"

She shook her head "No, I expected it to be inside a house with my husband securing a job in the ministry and me learning to take over my father's clothing empire."

"Do you have any regrets" Ron asked her softly.

She merely leaned up and kissed him. Putting his arms around her waist Ron happily responded while her hands held his rough slightly unshaven cheeks. Pulling back she smiled "None whatsoever" she replied to his earlier question making him smile. "You really need to shave."

Ron rubbed the facial hair he had been growing for the past year and felt a very itchy sensation "Yeah, you're right" he said with a chuckle. Very surprisingly the day went by without so much as a peep from anything; not the remaining Death Eaters, Dementors or even Voldemort and that put them on guard more than anything for they hadn't gone by a single day without combat since the beginning of the battle.

It was ten o'clock in the morning on December 31st when it finally begun. Everyone could just feel in their bones that one way or another the battle would end tonight. Soon the roar of a lion made everyone tense. Then the castle seemed to glow before the sound of a barrier shattering got their attention.

Their Anti-Apparition Jinx just got destroyed.

"They last assault has begun" someone whispered before the roof exploded and the last wave of Death Eaters and Snatchers came running in. the roar of a lion got louder and looking out the ruined doors everyone could see three Manticore's running right for them.

"Leave them to us" Theo shouted running out to the courtyard with Blaise and Tracey. The back of the Great Hall suddenly exploded revealing two roaring Basilisks.

"Damn it" Ron cursed as he crouched down snarling. His body morphed until he stood on all fours a big, fury and very angry lion. Running forward past students and death eaters alike Ron crashed into one of the Basilisks and both of them went tumbling back down the rocky Cliffside and impacted in the water.

Daphne raced off quickly and making sure not to look the Basilisk in the eye she blasted it out the window with a powerful blast of wind. Looking back at the hall to see everyone else had control of the situation Daphne jumped out to help her husband take care of the Basilisks.

Floating in the sky Voldemort watched the chaos; this was his last assault and he saved his best for last. He may have been mortal, but he was the most powerful Dark Wizard of all time and he would now show it. His creatures and Death Eaters would kill everyone inside.

Suddenly he blocked a spell that would've taken his head off. Turning his head he sneered when he saw Harry Potter on his Firebolt his wand in his hand and the Sword of Gryffindor at his waist. "You done hiding Tom" Harry goaded.

Voldemort glared "I hide from no one."

"The last two months say otherwise" Harry countered. "You have no more Horcrux's and your forces are decimated; now stop stalling and let's settle this." The two of them stared before launching spells; the two of them flew around the entire castle launching spell after spell. Harry, being an expert flier could easily swerve in and around many different crevices along the ruined castle to escape Voldemort's onslaught.

And when he had the chance he launched his own spells at Voldemort, but the Dark Lord merely blocked them all. This would be a very long and ferocious duel.

Down in the courtyard Theo, Blaise and Tracey were facing off against the Manticore's. They only had their swords out since a Manticore's body was very resistant to most magic. Theo and Tracey had the courtyard leaving Blaise to battle his Manticore on the causeway.

Using his earth powers Blaise had cracked and destroyed parts of the causeway to make the Manticore slip up, but he couldn't get a good shot because of the stinger and had to use his blade to block the stinger. The claws and teeth they could all recover from, but the sting of a Manticore would cause instant death just like with a scorpion.

Since Theo and Tracey were in such an enclosed space with both Manticore's attacking them both simultaneously they always kept one hand near each other to swerve around and help each other avoid the Manticore's. Since these beasts were sentient they were very intelligent and could actually see through lots of moves so they had to be careful.

The Death Eaters were dealing with the remainder of the Death Eaters and Snatchers. Flitwick, being a former master duel champion, had already defeated Travers and Thicknesse all by himself and shockingly it was Neville Longbottom himself taking on Rabastan Lestrange.

Rabastan had become very unstable after the death of his older brother Rodolphus; the two of them were very close as brothers and losing his brother was a serious damage to his psyche. Rabastan swore that no matter what he would kill Ronald Weasley for what he did. The dark lord had seen fit to replace Rodolphus' missing arm with one made of silver like he did with Pettigrew almost three years ago.

Speaking of Pettigrew Voldemort had seen fit to make the rat participate in the battle and so the rat had no choice, but to transform and sneak into the battle and take out anyone he could, but sadly for him it wouldn't be anyone as Sirius and Remus caught onto his act and right as he transformed to take out one of the Patil Twins both of the remaining Marauders blasted Pettigrew to dust making sure he was dead this time.

Neither one of them had any regret as they rejoined the battle.

"Get out of my way boy" Rabastan growled as he tried blasting Neville, but the Longbottom heir kept defending himself.

"Not a chance Lestrange" Neville glared at him.

Rabastan growled before he looked closely at Neville "Oh yeah… I recognize that face. You're the Longbottom child of those Auror's we tortured nearly sixteen years ago." Neville's face twisted into rage "I especially remember the woman; cute little thing she was. Too bad we had a job to do otherwise I would've been tossing my stuff into all day long."

Neville's face had never showed so much rage; he launched a spell at Rabastan, which he blocked. Rabastan launched three spells at Neville forcing the young boy back, but he did block them. Rabastan laughed mockingly at Neville, but he let his guard down and Neville capitalized on that.

Suddenly it was like Neville became a whirlwind of spells as his wand launched spell after spell at Rabastan catching the Lestrange off guard. Then finally one spell disarmed Rabastan and then Neville launched a single spell that hit Rabastan in the neck. Rabastan's face forever had a look of surprise as his head slowly peeled from his neck and fell to the ground spurting a miniature fountain of blood.

Neville panted slightly, but even through his tired and rage filled mind he thought 'Mother… Father… you've been avenged.'

Harry and Voldemort continued their duel throughout the sky crashing through every tower of the castle launching spell after spell before they met in a lock. Harry made their connected spells smash into the castle exploding debris that almost hit Voldemort. Using the distraction to his advantage Harry caught Voldemort with a loud "Confringo" and the dark lord roared as he fell from the sky. Harry turned around from the Astronomy Tower to go after him only for a killing curse to shoot at him.

The spell struck Harry's firebolt completely obliterating it making Harry fall with a short cry. He landed on the roof of the tower sliding down until he caught onto the edge. He hung there for dear life with the ground very far down.

Voldemort flew up at Harry "Mine" he called aiming his wand to finish Harry, but a screech got both of their attention. A snowy owl flew out of nowhere and Hedwig raked her claws along Voldemort's face making the Dark Lord roar in anger and slight pain.

In retaliation a killing cure shot from his wand and struck the snow owl and Harry saw her plummet into the foggy abyss "NO, no" he cried in grief. Feeling another sense of loss for the first and only animal companion Harry ever had made a spark ignite in Harry's body. The spark grew until it grew into a raging fiery inferno. Turning to Voldemort Harry growled before swinging his body to where he flipped into the interior of the Astronomy tower. Turning to Voldemort he swung his wand yelling "Carpe Retractum."

He snagged Voldemort around the waist and dragged the Dark Lord into the tower where he threw him against the wall. Voldemort was up in a flash and at once the two wizards clashed with both of them roaring simultaneously.

Back down in the courtyard the Garrison was beginning to tire out and were very cut up and bruised from the attacks of the Manticore's, but thankfully none of them had been stung. Blaise battled his Manticore's tail aside rapidly as it attempted to sting him before the Manticore struck with its claws. Blaise brought his blade down in time to push the claws away from getting a fatal blow, but his leg paid the price and he fell to the ground with a grunt.

The Manticore was ruthless as it pounced on him and knocked Caladbolg out of Blaise's reach. Hastily Blaise surrounded his arms in rock and earth to smack the Manticore in the face, but the beast barely felt it and instead roared as it tried biting his face out as Blaise had to use both his arms to hold it back. His body was too far under the Manticore for the stinger to reach, but right now its teeth were about to tear into his face.

Blaise was trapped, but he had no choice 'Please… work' he begged internally as he grunted in force to bring out his magic. A yellow glow began to envelop him and just as the Manticore was about to sink it's fangs into Blaise's neck a yellow explosion boomed from Blaise.

The dust cleared revealing a bright yellow ribcage and two large skeletal arms that held the Manticore in its grip. Blaise panted looking like he was in some serious pain before the glow expanded forming a spinal cord before the bones seemed to develop muscle and tissue. Blaise growled loudly in pain as the grip on the Manticore seemed to increase making it cry out in pain and agony.

With a final roar Blaise used all his strength to crush the Manticore. It worked and the Manticore exploded in a disgusting wave of flesh, blood and organs. Blaise panted as he let the yellow magic dissipate; struggling to get up he finally did and grabbed Caladbolg, but as he got to the courtyard his strength gave out and he collapsed to the ground against the stone wall.

"Theo, Tracey you have to use it to beat them" he called with the last bit of strength he had left.

Tracey and Theo jumped back looking at Blaise seeing his exhausted state. Both of them looked at the remaining Manticore and feeling their own exhausted state they both nodded to each other. Tossing their blades to the side they held their wands in front of them.

"Draconis Bellator" they both murmured. A bright glow came from the both of them and a similar effect happened to them like it did with Blaise. Both of them began visibly sweat and pant as a blue glow enveloped Tracey and a purple glow enveloped Theo.

The Manticore's knew it was danger and so they charged intent on killing them only for similar glowing ribcages formed and stopped the stingers from piercing them even though it forced the two of them to their knees. Panting in exertion Theo sucked in a breath and gave a shout as two purple skeletal arms formed and grabbed his Manticore.

Tracey almost couldn't do it "Come on Tracey I can't do this alone" Theo called physically in pain. His face was scrunched further enhancing the massive scar on his handsome face. Seeing him in pain trying so hard made Tracey reach deep down for power she didn't even know she had. Growling loudly she also formed two arms and managed to grab her own Manticore and with simultaneous roars they both squished the Manticore's and it took all of their strength.

Both of them collapsed to the ground unconscious their energy and magic completely spent. And because of that they were oblivious as to what their actions caused.

Back up at the Astronomy Tower Harry and Voldemort continued their duel and held another standoff until they stopped when the castle shook and a large green barrier suddenly shot up originating from the courtyard until it encompassed the entire castle grounds from one side to the other.

"What just happened" Harry said looking around frantically. Hearing Voldemort's laugh Harry turned to him and glared. "What did you do?"

The evil grin he got in return made Harry's spine shudder "The Manticore's were just a diversion. The moment the beasts were destroyed they released the barrier I put on them. A barrier so powerful that it traps whoever's inside it."

Harry had a bad feeling "What good would that do you?"

Voldemort chuckled evilly "Everything; only a wizard of sufficient power from the outside can take down the barrier from the outside and only the caster can take it down from the inside."

Harry saw the whole in the barrier, but the sinking feeling in his gut did not go away "Big deal; when Ron and Daphne deal with your stupid snakes they'll break the barrier and then you'll have nothing left."

To his growing bad feeling Harry saw Voldemort laugh "Destroy my stupid snakes you say… that's exactly what I want them to do." Harry's eyes widened as he snuck a glance out the tower and saw Ron and Daphne battling the Basilisks in the middle of the lake.

"Damn it" he cursed going after Voldemort again. He had to finish this now.

Meanwhile Ron and Daphne were flying through the air trying to deal with Basilisks; it was hard to do since they couldn't look them in the eye or even glance at them or they would die or be petrified. And to make it worse they had to keep expending their magic because they couldn't fight in the water or on the shore. The shore because it would make them too vulnerable and the water because it was too cold. Ron hit the water in his Animagus form and the shock of the cold water nearly made his heart stop. The water had to be a little below freezing.

The Basilisks seemed to be unaffected by the water as they swam around in it like it was a swimming pool. The scales of the Basilisk were incredibly hard so normal spells didn't do much for them so mostly they were relying on their swords trying to land a fatal blow, but the Basilisks were not making it easy.

Daphne flew down avoiding the fangs of the Basilisk; making sure to keep her own eyes on its mouth should it try again she watched it's every move as it slithered about. Likewise Ron was doing the same propelling fire out of his feet to push himself around and avoid the Basilisk. Even his fire magic was having a few troubles harming them; he'd need to do something stronger.

Wait… something stronger; that's it. "Daphne, fly high now" he shouted. Trusting him she did as she was told while Ron's fingers began to spark. Right as the Basilisks flung themselves at Ron to deal the final blow he launched a large beam of lightning from his fingertips and they hit the water. The Basilisk shrieked in agony as empowered lightning soared through their systems.

Ron stopped as the Basilisks were flung backwards form the power and crashed under the lake. Daphne landed beside a panting Ron "Are they… dead" she asked hopefully.

"I don't think so" Ron replied gravely. "At most, just stunned, they'll be back." Sure enough they were and before either of them could blink the tails of the Basilisk shot from the water and smacked both of them in the gut sending them flying against the castle wall where they slid down and landed on the small patch of land. All the breath was knocked out of their lungs and probably four ribs each were bruised from the hard impact.

The Basilisks flew from the water hissing angrily before rushing towards them; however they stopped and were lifted out of the water. The two Garrison members could only stare as it was the Giant Squid that did it; it was helping them. "Quickly" Ron said hurriedly as he pulled his sword out. Daphne hastily did the same and both of their swords glowed golden.

Propelling themselves through the air they went to finish off the Basilisks, but, to their horror, they realized too late that both mighty snakes had bit the squid and were latched on, but the Giant Squid still held on for them.

"EXCALIBUR/CALIBURN" they both shouted simultaneously and with the full power of their holy blades they sliced the heads of the Basilisks off. In their minds they both thought the same thing 'Victory.'

Then everything exploded!

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flames will be ignored.


	20. Chapter 20

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter Twenty)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

An explosion shook all of Hogwarts and it blew open the entire wall to the Great Hall sending the once victorious students and Order members flying into the walls while the entire left side of the wall and back collapsed.

Up in the Astronomy Tower Harry and Voldemort's duel stopped again when they felt the explosion and Harry, hastily erecting a shield charm, looked out at the lake and his eyes widened in horror. There was a massive sea of fire shooting into the air; it was the only remnants of the mighty explosion.

Voldemort's laugh echoed "Like I said… it's just what I wanted. The moment one Basilisk was destroyed an exploding hex was set to go off and they were stupid enough to kill both at the same time. Even if they did survive the explosion… no one will get to them in time."

Harry now understood; he understood while Voldemort put that special barrier spell in the Manticore's to make them go off when they were killed so that a barrier would stop anyone from going to Ron and Daphne when they walked into a trap when confronting the Basilisks.

Harry felt a lot of rage and grief over this long battle and all the loss he's had to deal with, but the very thought of his best friend and the love of said friend being dead. Harry went into a state of rage so massive he was no longer conscious of his actions.

Al he was aware of was that he was screaming and waving his arm about and seeing spells shoot from his wand like water bursts from a fire hydrant. Even when he ran out of air to scream he just inhaled long enough to keep screaming; even when Voldemort shot spells at him Harry wave the Sword of Gryffindor about and blocked the spells perfectly.

When Voldemort began to try and retreat Harry would have none of that and as Voldemort flew off in a wisp of black smoke Harry flew off in a wisp of white smoke. They chased each other all around the castle banging into each other as they flew with both of them screaming; one in anger and the other in pure rage.

Finally they grabbed onto one another seemingly trying to strangle each other until flying straight down and crashing through the roof of the Great Hall and impacted on the ground rolling away from each other to opposite ends of the Great Hall.

Both of them were on the ground bruised, dirty and bloody… and were also unarmed. Their wands were sitting at a distance away from each other; army crawling they both desperately reached for their wands and managed to snag them at the exact same time.

Roaring they both launched their spells at one another that connected in a massive standstill that shook the Great Hall. Through Harry's rage induced mind he managed to think and summoning all of his remaining strength on magic he wandlessly managed to lift a stone and impact it with the back of Voldemort's head.

The Dark Lord wailed in anger and pain and it distracted him enough to allow Harry to launch their combined spells to the remains of the roof bringing it down on Voldemort. Voldemort hastily waved his wand to banish the stones, but that gave Harry enough time to get close enough with the Sword of Gryffindor.

Voldemort stared in shock and pain as the silver sword was rammed through his torso. Harry's last sneer was the last thing Voldemort would ever see as Harry pulled the sword out and with a single swing he beheaded Voldemort and the Dark Lord fell to the ground finally dead for good.

It was almost silent for a good minutes until everyone cheered at once and charged Harry. Harry felt himself being patted, touched and hugged tightly as it seemed everyone just wanted to see if it was real, to touch the boy-who-lived.

"Stop… STOP IT" Harry finally shouted. "It's not over yet."

"What do you mean; the Death Eaters are dead, Voldemort's dead and even the creatures are dead" Sirius said. "There's nothing left." Unfortunately there was and Harry quickly went to explain what he learned from Voldemort about the barrier and the Basilisks.

Immediately after he finished saying that everyone went rushing outside to try and break the barrier knowing that while the war maybe over it wasn't over until all of the survivors were there with them.

Meanwhile when the explosion blew Daphne blanked out; all she felt was her body flying through the air until she impacted with the water; oh god it hurt more than anything she had ever experienced before. Daphne was never much a swimmer and upon hitting this icy water that was below freezing all she felt was pain. The cold water felt like a thousand tiny knives piercing her flesh.

She didn't come back to reality unto someone grabbed her and pulled her above the surface where she got a deep breath of air "Daphne swim" the voice of Ron said.

"Ron" Daphne gasped opening her eyes, but gasped when she saw that his left arm was missing "You're arm!"

"Swim Daphne, I need you to swim" he said forcefully. With his one remaining arm he pulled her along.

"It's so cold" Daphne moaned as the water seemed to freeze her to the very lungs.

"Just keep swimming" he urged. Pulling her along they came upon a ruined piece of the Great Hall doors that were blown off from the explosion. "Hurry, get on" he said quickly urging her to climb up. With a groan of pain from the explosion and the cold Daphne managed to climb on. Ron attempted to climb on top with her, but the board began tipping making Daphne cry as the cold water hit her. "Just stay on, just stay on" he gasped panting from the cold.

"Ron" Daphne whispered as she could only watched helplessly as her one-armed husband suffered in the cold water. "W-What about you?"

"I'll be fine, just keep moving" he said rubbing her rapidly chilling arm with his one arm. Reaching back into the water he pulled out his wand and held it to his lips "Si-Sibilo" he stuttered with clattering teeth. He blew on the tip of his wand and it let out a loud whistle like a muggle whistle. He blew on it a few times "Please… help us" Ron's hoarse voice shouted as loud as he could before blowing on the whistle a few times.

Back in the courtyard everyone heard the whistle and the feint shout "They're alive" Colin shouted. The Garrison, who had been awoken by everyone else, were already relentless pounding on the barrier. Everyone else roared as they launched spell after spell at the barrier to try and break it, but the Slytherin green barrier held strong.

"Stop" Harry shouted and they did. "Stop wasting energy; Voldemort said only the caster can release it from the inside." Everyone cursed again as they weakly heard another whistle calling from the lake.

"We have to do something" Nicholas screamed in fatherly worry an anger. With good reason; his oldest daughter and son-in-law were dying out there. Theo, Tracey and Daphne looked hopelessly at each other before running for their fallen swords. Picking their swords up they roared as they slashed at the barrier. It only glowed briefly showing the hit, but they kept hitting roaring in desperation each time. It was almost heartbreaking watching the three of them so desperately trying to reach their friends.

Nightfall had come; it was now ten o'clock at night and the battle had ended nearly two and a half hours ago. Daphne and Ron were still floating helplessly out in the lake; too injured to make a swim for shore. Ron was shivering violently his breaths coming out in short gasps. His vibrant red hair looked almost black in the night with frost beginning to form on his hair. Daphne just lied limply on the board.

"I-It's ju-just t-taking them… a wh-while to f-finish the ba-battle and re-recu-cuperate" Ron stuttered badly. "Th-They'll be here for us soon." He panted again before breathing deeply "I don't know about you… but I intend to t-take a very long h-hot bath after this." He chuckled slightly at his own joke, but it held no real mirth in it.

Daphne stared at him with glazed eyes "I love you Ron" she murmured quietly.

Ron slowly looked up and the fierce look came back to his eyes "D-Don't you do that" he said through blue frozen lips. "Don't you say your goodbyes… not yet! Do you understand me?"

"I'm so cold" she whimpered as her body shivered violently.

"Listen to me" he said taking a hold of her frozen hand "You're gonna get out of here… and you're gonna make… lots of babies… and you're gonna watch them grow." Panting more he said "Y-You're gonna die an old, old lady… warm in her bed. Not here… not this night. Not like this, do you understand me?"

Daphne stared at him with all the love she had "I can't feel my body."

"L-Leading this Garrison, was the best thing that ever happened to me" he said with as much passion as he could. With a shivering smile he added "It brought me to you. And I'm thankful for that Daphne… I'm so thankful."

He shifted more panting even harsher; his stump of a left arm had stopped bleeding a while ago; he had used the last of his magical power to cauterize the wound shut until they… if they were rescued and Theo could regrow it.

"You must do me t-this honor Daphne" he said clenching her hand even tighter. "You must promise me you'll survive… that you won't give up." Both of them began to choke up "That no matter what happens… no matter how… hopeless… promise me now Daphne. Promise me you'll never let go."

Daphne choked up as tears made their way down her frozen face "I'll never let go Ron… I'll never let go." Ron gave her one last smile as he breathed harshly and kissed her frozen fingers and touched foreheads with her.

Back at the courtyard the Garrison had tired themselves out after swinging at the barrier for an hour straight. "There's nothing we can do" Theo panted. He slowly stood up "THERE'S NOTHING" he shouted throwing Gram to the ground in a fit of anger.

Everyone else was silent as well; the reality began to set in. They may have one the war, but the price was so hefty. Tracey looked at Theo and upon seeing him lose his emotions like that made an unbearable pain build in her chest and adding to the pain she already felt at the possibility of her best friend being dead.

Tracey turned to the barrier and got up using the last bit of her strength "Draconis Bellator" she bellowed. The purple glow surrounded her body again with the ribcage and arms forming before it looked like muscle and skin formed over them. Then on top of the spinal cord the skeleton of a Peruvian Vipertooth formed before forming muscle and skin over the bone. The beast made of pure magic growled like a real dragon.

To Harry this was seeing magic in its pure combative form.

Tracey ran to the barrier and with the claws of the Draconis Bellator she grabbed onto it and screamed as she used all her strength. Slowly the barrier began to waver, cracks began to form before Tracey gave one final scream and destroyed a portion of the barrier.

"Go, I can't hold this" she yelled straining harshly. Quickly Blaise and Theo managed to slip through the barrier before Tracey let out a cry as the Draconis Bellator dissipated and Tracey fell to the ground and the barrier reformed. Tracey panted in pain as Ashton held her up.

Theo and Blaise nodded to her before racing off. They slid down the edge of the cliff until they got to the base of the lake. Theo hastily transfigured a large stone into a boat the size of a typical lifeboat on a cruise liner while Blaise transfigured some more stones into oars.

Once done the two of them got in the boat and began to oar as fast as they could out into the lake. "Lumos Maxima" Theo said and a large ball of light shot into the air. They could now see the dark lake as they rowed out into it. "Do you see any movement" Theo called to Blaise.

Blaise shined his own wand on the area "No Theo, none."

"Keep looking" Theo barked. He rapidly looked around and spotted bits and pieces of Basilisk flesh, but his shock went even higher when he saw the giant squid dead floating in the water, but then his shock hit even higher "Blaise" he almost cried.

Blaise quickly moved over and shined his wand on the area Theo was looking and his own eyes widened as he saw the two Basilisk's heads with their fangs imbedded in the giant squid, but that wasn't the worst. Imbedded in both heads were Caliburn and Excalibur, but the horrifying part was that Excalibur was still being gripped… by Ron's severed left arm.

"We took too long" Blaise said in a rare show of sadness and despair. Breathing in his face morphed into a look of determination "Well keep checking, keep looking" he snapped. They collected everything that mattered; the two swords and Ron's wedding ring and left the rest to be washed away in the lake.

"Ron… Daphne, can you guys hear me" Theo shouted.

"Hello" Blaise called loudly. "Can you guys here us?"

While they continued calling for the two leaders they had no idea that they were floating less than twenty feet away to the right. Lying on her back on the board Daphne stared up at the night sky softly singing to herself with her frozen hand clasped tightly with Ron's.

"_We're halfway there… Wo-oo. Livin' on a prayer. Take my hand and we'll make it I swear… Wo-oo"_ she sung softly.

She was almost devoid of all life; she looked like a porcelain doll now with how white she looked; ice had almost completely taken over her hair making it look even paler than Malfoy's hair. She didn't know where everyone else was, but they were either dead or believed they were dead.

"Hello… are you two out there" a warped voice called. Daphne turned her head slowly her hair crinkling from the frost. She saw a boat rowing nearby and through tired blurry vision she saw outlines of Theo and Blaise.

The joy actually brought some warmth to her; they had come for them. She and Ron would be saved. Turning over to her stomach she shook Ron's one arm "Ron… Ron it's a boat." Silence was what she got in return. Looking at him she was that he was so pale that he was paler than the Hogwarts ghosts even though he was naturally pale. His red hair looked almost white since the ice was so thick on him. His perfect features were so caked with ice he looked like a statue.

The Black Lake was trying to claim him and make this spot his grave. "No… Ron wake up… there's a boat" she shook him more rapidly, but he didn't even twitch. No, this couldn't be happening; cries and sobs began to wrack her body.

Then, to her ever growing grief, she saw the boat began to row away "Wait… come back" she croaked weakly. "Come back… come back."

"HELLO" Theo called his voice seemingly amplified. "Can you guys here me?"

"They're not here Theo" Blaise said gravely as he began to turn the boat in another direction.

"Come back… come back" she cried weakly. Looking down at their conjoined hands Daphne made a decision. She wasn't going to give up… and she wasn't letting him go. Looking around she spotted Ron's wand floating in the water a short distance away and she also saw her own wand floating next to it. Increasing her grip on his hand she began to slide off the board "I'll never let go… I promise you" she gave his hand one last kiss before swinging her body off the board.

Oh sweet Merlin it hurt a lot more than it did from when she first landed in the water, but using the little strength she had recovered Daphne managed to haul Ron atop her shoulder where he hung limply. Panting and gasping for precious air Daphne struggled to the wands and when she grabbed them she gasped out "Si-Sibi-Sibilo."

Once she did she blew on the tip of the wands as hard as her tortured lungs would let her. Theo and Blaise were venturing deeper into the Black Lake when they heard the weak whistle. Theo quickly shined his wand in the direction "COME ABOUT."

The light shined on them and what Theo and Blaise saw would forever be burned into their minds. Daphne and Ron looked like frozen corpses, but still alive. They rowed over to them as fast as possible; Daphne refused to stop the whistling until their hands grabbed a hold of her and brought her and Ron into the boat.

"Quick Theo pull the water from their clothes" Blaise barked as he conjured some blankets. Theo did and he drained the water from their clothes and hair, but it still remained straw-like and dead. Blaise quickly wrapped the two of them up in warm blankets. "Let's just row back as fast as we can and hopefully we can get them warmed up."

Theo nodded and the two of them rowed back hastily, but as they got back they forgot about the barrier. "That's it; Blaise" he barked angrily. Both of them pulled their wands out and with a roar they cast the shield breaking charm. Both of their spells hit and Voldemort's barrier held up for about a minute before it shattered apart.

Everyone inside saw the barrier shatter and knew Blaise and Theo had returned. McGonagall hastily transformed the cliff into a staircase and everyone hastily ran down. When they got down they saw Theo and Blaise exit the boat… carrying a limp and dead looking Ron and Daphne in their arms.

Fred and George immediately ran up and seized Ron from Blaise's arms and immediately rushed back up with Harry and the rest of their family while Nicholas and Cynthia hastily grabbed their daughter and rushed back up with Astoria and Tracey.

The rest of them hastily followed them back up to see them lighting fires and placing them by it. "Everyone who got an E in potions go to the Potions Class and get all the ingredients for a Pepper-up Potion" Nicholas yelled to them.

About ten students ran down to the dungeons and while they were gone the others who surrounded Ron and Daphne, began warming them up anyway they could, but they remained still. The reality was setting in; they had been in that water for more than three hours in the height of winter. There was little chance they could survive.

Three minutes later the students returned with the ingredients and utensils and gave them to Nicholas. It was very obvious where Daphne got her potions talent from as Nicholas whipped up a Pepper-up Potion in a flash.

Once he did he passed one to his wife and together they poured the potion down Ron and Daphne's throats. Steam shot out of their ears, but they remained absolutely still. Everyone crowded around them just watching and waited with baited breath trying to suppress tears in their eyes.

Then the clock finally struck midnight and it gonged loudly echoing all across the now silent mountains. It was now officially midnight January 1st, 1998, the day of the New Year.

It was like a miracle just happened as Ron and Daphne twitched slightly and groaned before opening their eyes. They could hear everyone talking and cheering in absolute joy and happiness, but their eyes only found each other.

Weakly Ron's right arm lifted out of the blankets reaching for Daphne. Likewise Daphne's left arm reached out for Ron's arm and they gently clasped. "We made it" he said quietly.

"… Yeah" she whispered back before both fell asleep again.

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flames will be ignored.


	21. Chapter 21

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter Twenty-One)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

The Malfoy Family didn't get an ounce of sleep at all last night as they heard all the fighting and all the explosions along with the screams of those fighting. It was almost nightmare inducing; they were scared, but stayed near each other all night. Draco swore to himself that night that if Weasley and Potter won he would change, he would change himself. He would become a better person.

Then the sound of the door opening made them all tense. Narcissa and Lucius stood protectively in front of Draco, but relaxed slightly when they saw it was only Blaise. Blaise looked as hardened as ever, in fact he looked even more hardened. "To the Great Hall" was all he said before walking out.

The Malfoy Family followed behind Blaise and upon getting to ground level all of them bit back a gasp as they stared at the ruined castle. It was almost complete rubble and what little students still in the hall… they had hardened veteran looks like Aurors.

Then they saw Ron and Harry walk up to them. Harry looked absolutely terrible as if he hadn't slept in months, he was covered in mud, blood and he had still healing wounds all over his body. Ron looked even worse than Harry; he looked incredibly pale, almost ghost pale, his red hair limp and dull and looking like he went through hell.

Draco noticed something else and gasped "Your arm…" he said in horror staring at the stump that used to be Ron's left arm.

"It's a small price to pay" Ron said without care. "There are more important things to worry about. The war is over… Voldemort and every single one of his followers are dead."

"You did it" Draco said in absolute shock.

"Yeah" Harry said despondently. "But not without a heavy cost." Seeing their looks Harry added "Why don't you follow us to the back." it wasn't a suggestion and the two boys turned and walked off to the back. The Malfoy Family looked at each other confused before Draco began following them. Seeing their son following the two parents followed after them.

Walking to the back of the school they walked over the new stone bridge made by Blaise just this morning. Once they had walked across they began walking down the small hill that led to Hagrid's Hut. They stopped in the middle of the stairs and pointed.

The Malfoy Family followed their gaze and their eyes widened in absolute horror and shock and for good reason. There was a reason there were so few students still left in the Great Hall. The ones left in the Great Hall were the ones that were too injured to walk or lift properly and the ones that weren't were out back digging and making graves for all of the dead.

The bodies were all lined out on the ground and each time one grave was finished another would begin. "So you see" Ron said attracting their attention. He spoke in a completely despondent tone "This is the aftereffect of the whim of a madman."

"A pathetic half-blood bastard who had daddy issues" Harry said spitefully. "Blood supremacy… all that leads to is death."

Draco swallowed some bile in his throat "H-How many" he finally asked.

"How many died" Ron asked him bluntly. Draco nodded softly "I'll tell you this; 170 brave wizards and witches fought on our side against Voldemort's forces that equaled just a little over 1200. Add to that 200 house elves also bravely fought for our side bringing our numbers up to 370. Of those 370 brave souls only 42 got to see this day."

They received horrified looks in return "Three-hundred and twenty-eight died" Narcissa said in horror.

They both nodded "There's not a single soul here who didn't lose a friend or dearest blood relative" Ron said. "Muggle-borns, Half-Bloods, Creatures and Purebloods alike all died fighting for what they believed in… freedom."

Harry looked at the Malfoy Family and said "Your family always believed it was the pureness of blood that determined what someone was… well let me show you something that shows that blood means nothing when determining who someone really is."

And with that Harry turned and walked towards a gravesite. Ron motioned for them to follow and so they did. Following Harry they passed by many completed gravesites and all the students gave them neutral or dirty looks as they passed.

Finally they stopped in front of a gravesite "Read it" Harry told them. Not one of them moved for they seemed afraid of what they were going to read; finally Draco swallowed and crouched down to read the headstone.

DENNIS CREEVEY

June 29th 1983 – October 27th 1997

Muggle-Born and proud of it!

That was all the gravestone said and Draco's eyes could only keep staring at it; an emotion he couldn't quite describe hit him right in the chest and Draco felt his eyes watering. "Of all the casualties in this battle Dennis Creevey was the youngest; a 14 year old boy was willing to sneak back into a dangerous environment to fight" Harry said staring at the grave softly.

"And it wasn't just Muggle-borns who died this fight" Ron said. He pointed to the gravesite next to Dennis. Once more they read it.

LAVENDER BROWN

February 11th 1980 – October 27th 1997

A pureblood who never gave in!

"As you can see not every pureblood gave into Voldemort's madness because they believed in a changing world" Ron said. "The supremacy of blood means nothing in this world because at the end of the day…" Ron nodded to Harry and Harry nodded back. Both of them bit their fingers showing that despite the difference in their blood status they both bleed red blood. Holding their bleeding fingers out they both said simultaneously finishing Ron's earlier statement "… We're all human."

That seemed to have an effect on Draco the most as he stared out at the scene of the remaining survivors burying all the honored dead. Then Draco surprised everyone when he went over and grabbed a shovel "Draco" Lucius said very surprised.

"They're right father" Draco said now surprising Harry and Ron as well. "I used to believe that having pure blood meant you were better than everything, but look at this." He spread his arms out to everything that was going on. "All it's brought is death to almost an entire generation… it's enough. I'm done following the crowd. It's time to make a difference."

And with that Draco, the pureblood who always thought he was better than everyone else, shamelessly went about digging graves and hauling bodies with the other survivors. Lucius and Narcissa could only stare and watch as their son hauled the bodies of the dead into graves and both parents felt a sense of sadness and regret especially Lucius surprisingly. His only son had to suffer and carry the weight of the dead on his hands because of his radical views.

An even bigger surprise came when Lucius also began to help his son bury the dead; Harry and Ron stared for a moment before smiling. They knew things were about to change. "I've gotta get back to work" Harry said going to help the others. "You should go back and rest; you're still not fully recovered."

"Yeah" Ron said wrapping his cloak tighter around his body as the cold made him feel very weak. He got back up to the castle and back to the Great Hall. He saw Daphne being hugged tightly by her family and walked towards them. "May I sit" he asked them.

"Oh by all means" Nicholas smiled scooting over allowing his son-in-law to sit down next to Daphne. Knowing they wanted to sit together Nicholas stood and helped his wife and second daughter up where they left them to themselves.

Ron put his one arm across Daphne and held her close. Daphne leaned into her husband's slightly warmer embrace. He was still extremely cold, but the natural warmth he put out just seemed to warm her up at his touch.

"How are you doing" he asked her softly.

"… Better now that you're here" she said snuggling up to him even more. She looked up at him; despite still looking so tired and weak he still emitted the aura of a proud leader. "You sacrificed so much for us Ron… you even lost your arm."

"Like I said earlier… it's just a small price to pay" he smiled. "Besides it was just an explosion hex. Theo is wracking himself crazy in Madam Pomfrey's old supply room looking for the spell to regrow limbs. I told him to take his time, but he's very adamant about it."

Daphne looked up at Ron smiling with all the love she could; even after everything they had gone through she was still looking upon the same determined boy she recalled meeting outside near the Black Lake nearly three years ago.

The memories came to her like a movie; her first meeting of Ron, the discussion at the Blake Lake, his agreeing to train them, all of their training, their trip to the Ministry to rescue Harry, all of their mission over the summer to stop the Death Eaters, the trip to the Queen where they realized their love for each other, the skirmish at the Burrow, their marriage, but in the end all of the memories ended with the picture they took of each other only three days after their wedding that stood in her room back at Greengrass Manor.

Without care she leaned up and kissed him. Pulling the cloak over them Ron happily reciprocated the wonderful feeling.

Hours later Ron was out back digging the graves with everyone else; he wasn't kidding when he said that Theo was racking his brain to find the spell to regrow limbs. He found it and he went over it as fast as he could and managed to regrow Ron's left arm.

It was a little weak and partially numb, but Ron had full function of it and he was not going to sit back and have his friends and subjects do all the funeral work. And so he went out back and helped everyone dig the graves; it took until about five o'clock in the afternoon when they were finished with all the graves. They had been doing this for three days straight until they had finally finished.

All of the graves took up about 300 yards and went almost up to Hagrid's Hut. With the graves all finished everyone just stared at the sites before Theo and Ron waved their wands. A pile of flowers appeared on each grave and on the graves of the House Elves they were presented with a single galleon each for their service to the school and permanently stuck them to the headstones with Permeant Sticking Charms.

After the Headstones were finished Tracey and Theo both made a monument to commemorate the fallen. It was a large plaque with the following writing on it:

This plaque is hereby commemorated to all the fallen Hogwarts Students, both in school and out of school, as well as fallen member of the Order of the Phoenix who gave their lives to stop the Dark Wizard Lord Voldemort. From the time of October 27th – December 31st of 1997 a force of 370 consisting of wizards, witches and house elves bravely defended this castle from Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Of all 370 brave souls only 42 survived to the end of the battle, but each soul that fell bravely sacrificed their lives for the freedom from oppression that they believed in. This memorial is also to show that the prejudice of blood purity leads to nothing, but heartache and death. Those who gave their lives cared not for the purity of someone's blood, but the valor of their hearts. For as long as time exists may that lesson never be forgotten especially for those who gave their lives for the freedom of the future generations.

The plaque was planted firmly in the ground on a stand in front of a set of shiny black iron gates and archway that was conjured by Professor McGonagall. This whole place was now known as the Hogwarts Memorial Graveyard that held the graves of more than 300.

When nighttime came everyone could finally celebrate their victory. There was much partying in the Great Hall after a very heartfelt eulogy performed by Professor McGonagall when the partying had begun. Some were celebrating the victory while others were drinking a lot just to try and forget the events that happened.

It seemed to be working as last Harry saw of Sirius was his one-eyes Godfather sharing a drunken kiss with Emmeline Vance before the two of them wandered off somewhere with drunken grins. He had seen Remus sitting with his very pregnant wife Tonks as she held him tightly happy that he was alive. Next he spotted Neville he saw him sitting next to Hannah Abbott as the two of them clinked glasses with smiles. Hannah had a blush on her face. Finally spotting the Weasley Family he saw Ginny, Percy and Arthur all sitting together just talking and sipping tea. Not far away he found Fred and George in the company of Alicia and Angelina as they comforted each other over the loss of their friends and family.

He also spotted the Malfoy Family sitting together looking as if they were nervous about being there even though people actively walked by them with smiles. Then Harry could barely stop himself from smiling as he saw Colin Creevey sitting by himself with a small glass of firewhisky, but it wasn't that scene that made him smile. It was when Astoria sat next to him and they both smiled at each other. Likewise he saw Theo and Tracey sitting together smiling at each other before they leaned in and shared a kiss.

Harry decided to get up and leave for a bit and get some fresh air; he passed by Blaise who was standing alone. Not surprising, he always was a bit of a loner. Daphne was sitting with her family just happy to be together.

Harry exited the back of the castle and felt the cold night air hit him. Spotting a light he looked down and saw a light by the Hogwarts Memorial Graveyard. Harry went down the hill to the flat ground and opened the gate. Walking down a bit he saw Ron crouched over two graves.

"Mate" he said softly.

Ron turned to him "Hey Harry" he said quietly. "Tired of the party already?"

Harry shrugged "A little too cramped" he responded before crouching down next to Ron and looking at the graves.

MOLLY WEASLEY CHARLES WEASLEY

October 30th 1949 – November 2nd 1997 December 12th 1972 – December 10th 1997

A loving wife and a doting mother! Loving brother, son and untamable dragon!

Harry put his hand on his best mate's shoulder trying to comfort him in any way that he could. Ron wiped his nose a bit and sniffled before sighing "Happy New Year Harry" he said.

"Happy New Year Ron" Harry said in return. Both mates stood up and continued to look down at the graves as it finally began to snow for the first time that winter. "But hey… it's over Ron… it's finally over."

Ron shook his head "No Harry… this is only the beginning of the revolution."

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flames will be ignored.


	22. Chapter 22

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter Twenty-Two)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

September 26th 1999, almost two full years since the defeat of Voldemort and the United Kingdom was still facing its problems dealing in the aftermath of everything that had happened. Ron was truly right when he said that the revolution had only just begun.

With Voldemort dead the ministry took only a week to get back on top and immediately they had come after Ron and his Garrison demanding that Ron turn over the Heart of the Dragon and his sword Excalibur as they were important historical wizarding artifacts and as such he had no right to possess them. They did the same with his Garrison's sword Caliburn, Gram, Durendal and Caladbolg.

They refused naturally and as such the Ministry tried to use force, but they were subdued and sent back to the ministry with their tails between their legs. Ever since then the Ministry had declared that the Dragon's Garrison was public enemy number one and anyone affiliated with them would be arrested for conspiracy and sedition.

Naturally the Ministry was met with outrage as the citizens and public had learned about Ron's possessions of the gem that was worn by a king and the Sword of Promised Victory that hadn't been wielded since King Arthur. They needed no more convincing as legend says that Excalibur would only allowed itself to be wielded by the next one true king.

Ron had the backing of the wizarding populace, but the Ministry still had hardened ministry supporters who would do any means necessary to stop someone who dared threaten their way of life. And so their revolution had begun and the fighting had not shown any signs of stopping.

Ron Weasley, now a strapping young nineteen year old wizard stood in a single field. The wind blew his slightly longer red hair about. He was dressed in black combat boots, black tunic pants as well as a long sleeved black tunic shirt. Over that was a royal blue cloak with furry white outline along the entire outline of the cloak. The cloak hung down to his calves and over his left shoulder. Hanging on the left side of his waist, under his cloak, was the Sword of Promised Victory, Excalibur.

Ron was facing no less than ten people who bore the symbol of the Ministry of Magic. Ron's right hand was clenched tightly around his aspen wand as he faced the ten wizards.

"STUPEFY"

The ten wizards suddenly acted launching ten simultaneous stunning spells at him. Ron merely dropped down in the splits leaning his body down avoiding the spells before rotating his body and legs sending a whirlwind of fire at the wizards.

They jumped back from the flames, but Ron reacted too quickly for them. Throwing his cloak aside as he swirled fire around his palms before launching them in rapid fireballs. They had to continuously bring up shield charms to have a chance at stopping them.

Propelling himself into the air with his fire Ron launched the blasting hex wordlessly and the entire ground blew up in front of them. Waving his wand a bright red chord shot from his wand and wrapped around the entirety of the ten wizards and had them trapped.

Landing on the ground Ron spoke "Expeliarmus Maxima" he said and all ten wizards were disarmed. Ron merely incinerated their wands. Plucking a rock Ron muttered "Portus" before tossing the stone onto the tied up wizards. They vanished in a flash having been whisked back to the Ministry. "Too easy" he muttered.

Slipping his wand back into his sleeve Ron picked up his cloak and slung it back over his back before continuing on his way. He was just going into town to buy some food for tonight's dinner at Greengrass Manor. Despite the Ministry saying that anyone who was in cahoots with the Dragon's Garrison would be arrested they couldn't do anything to the family for simple reasons.

Reason number one: Daphne was a legal adult and as such was responsible for her own actions and her parents and sister were not roped into that affiliation. And reason number two: Nicholas' influence in the Ministry was WAY too powerful for them to attempt anything.

Ron arrived at the manor as the sun was beginning to set; he didn't Apparate there because he enjoyed a nice walk sometimes. He only took his wand and sword with him because there was still a high chance he could be attacked; tonight just proved that.

Ron entered the house and went to the kitchen where he found Cynthia preparing dinner "I've got what you asked for" he said placing a few bags on the countertop.

"Thank you" Cynthia smiled. "I've got a big dinner to prepare tonight."

"Why's that, we having company" Ron asked curiously.

"Oh yes, Astoria's boyfriend is coming over" Cynthia said with another smile.

"Oh really, Colin's coming over" Ron said with interest. Yeah it smacked everyone in the face about a year ago when Astoria revealed that she was going out with Colin Creevey. It shocked nearly everyone, but those close to them were absolutely happy as they knew that it was Astoria who brought Colin back from the brink of depression. She helped him get over his little brother's death.

The community found it almost hard to accept it as the pureblood daughter of the Greengrass family was together with a muggle-born especially considering that the Greengrass Family was considered the highest of the Sacred Twenty-Eight.

The family cared not for it; in actuality, as Ron learned, the Greengrass Family cared not for Blood Supremacy and it was just mere coincidence that their family had married purebloods for the longest time as they genuinely feel in love with whomever they married.

Although Nicholas still had a bit of a hard time accepting the fact that both of his daughters were grown up. "Is Daphne back yet" Ron asked her.

"No she said she'd be back within an hour; she's with Tracey helping her plan her special day" Cynthia said with a small giggle. Ron smiled knowing what she was thinking about. After the Battle of Hogwarts Theo and Tracey had officially gotten together and a year and a half later Theo proposed to her. Now they were setting up a wedding date as Tracey wanted a wedding date in the height of fall weather, which Theo was happy to accommodate. Since he was the last of the Nott family he had inherited everything his family had accumulated over the last few centuries.

Everything was going pretty good right now; Harry had used his money, in secret, to rebuild his parent's old house in Godric's Hollow and lived there with Ginny since she graduated from the now rebuilt Hogwarts just a few months ago.

It took almost six months to rebuild Hogwarts even with magic and when they did the castle stood even more magnificently than ever and the coolest and most heart-felt thing that the rebuilders did was build statues of the Dragon's Garrison in the Entrance Hall to the left. That way when anyone left the Great Hall or entered the school from the courtyard they would see their statues. It depicted all of them standing side by side with their blades held in their hands and plaques depicting their names and their accomplishments. It was very heartwarming.

Ron, for the moment, lived with the Greengrass Family until his own home was built. Wizard Builders, who were extremely grateful to him for all he did for everyone during the war, had offered to build him his own place of living free of charge. They wouldn't take no for an answer so as such Ron agreed and before they began they acknowledged Ron as their King and promised to build him a residence that would be fit for a king.

Ron hoped he could finish this whole civil war with the Ministry quickly or else he would have to resort to bloodshed to get his point across. Ron had never killed anyone who didn't deserve it and he really hoped he didn't have to, but he had to get it across to these people… change was necessary for the progress of the Wizarding World.

In the meantime Ron had just gone upstairs into the resting room. It was a special room that Ron and Nicholas had designed to be a room for absolute comfort. It was stacked with large comfy armchairs and prime leather couches long enough to sleep on as well as a large fireplace that always seemed to be lit during the winter times.

Ron took a spot on an armchair with his sketchbook in hand and just began to draw. With the war with Voldemort over and the Revolution on hand Ron envisioned dreams for the future. Dreams for him and Daphne and their future children; both had talked about it and both knew they wanted children and wanted to bring them up without worrying about the prejudice of blood supremacy nor judgment on someone based on their past.

He also had to worry about leading the Revolution; everyone who acted with him met in secret when Ron called a meeting to discuss their next plan of action. None of it was easy nor was any of it safe as everyone ran a risk of capture or death just by going out in public.

Not to mention Ron had been feeling an odd sense for a while; as if he was being watched. He actually began feeling something on his and Daphne's anniversary after the Battle of Hogwarts. He passed it off, but for a while afterwards he found himself looking over his shoulder as he kept feeling something was looking at him, studying him and waiting for something. It set his teeth on edge.

He soon heard a knock on the door "Anyone here" a young voice teased.

Looking up Ron saw "Colin" he said with a grin getting up and clapping hands with Colin. Despite being only eighteen years old Colin looked a little older than that. He had finally hit his growth spurt and grew to a respectable 5'9. His mousy brown hair remained although it had grown longer and looked curly framing his face and resting on his shoulders. His brown eyes seemed to be a bit darker than they were when he was younger.

And… "What the hell" Ron said reaching out grabbing Colin's ear. He had a silver ring in each ear "Bloody hell Colin" he said with a laugh.

Colin blushed slightly and smoothed his hair back "Astoria thought it looked cool. My parents reacted… okay to it" he shrugged. "Besides, it's not that bad."

"Whatever you say mate" he said going back to his armchair. Colin planted himself in another armchair "On another note… what's the ministry planning?"

Upon the end of the war the new Minister of Magic, a person no one had really seen, said that everyone who had participated in the Battle of Hogwarts could become Aurors if they so wished to. Colin wanted to become an Auror to stop Dark Wizards from killing more families like Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Kingsley had taken over the Auror Office and took Colin as his apprentice. Both of them saw the corruption of the Ministry and worked secretly with Ron to acquire all the secrets they could.

"Still can't seem to find anything out" Colin said with a bit of frustration in his voice. "No matter what me and Kingsley try nothing seems to work. It's like… it's like the new Minister is always one step ahead. It's like he always knows when we try something. I have a bad feeling the Minister know we're spies, but he's not doing anything about it. We're not even getting sent out on any mission higher than B-Class. It doesn't make sense."

Ron was frowning "You're right… it doesn't make sense" Ron said quietly. He pondered on these events for a bit thinking on the next possible move "Just keep doing what you're doing Colin. We won't act until something out of the ordinary occurs." Colin nodded in understanding.

They spent the next half an hour just talking about random things until Daphne came home and not too long afterwards Nicholas arrived at home as well. Dinner was a rather amusing event for Daphne and Ron as they watched Nicholas practically interrogate Colin about his intentions towards his daughter. Even Cynthia took a little amusement in seeing Colin sweat.

By the end of the night Colin left the house completely red in the face, but had felt better when Ron assured him it was just Nicholas being a protective father.

When it was nighttime Ron got ready to head to bed while Daphne was already lying in bed. She lied in a pair of black knickers and a dark green tank top that exposed a lot of her midriff. Ron came from the bathroom in the other room in a pair of blue sweat pants and a black wife beater shirt, which did nothing to hide his slim muscular arms.

"I still wonder sometimes if I married a Veela" Ron said as he took in every ounce of her body.

Daphne gave him a sultry look and lowered her shirt slightly giving him a quick glance "And, at times, I wonder if I married Achilles." Ron laughed slightly as his eyes wandered over her body seductively. Because of the whole Voldemort problem, plus their age, and now the Ministry problem they hadn't been able to fully consummate their marriage and lately it had been becoming really, really hard to resist one another.

Kind of like right now as Ron found himself pinning Daphne to the bed holding both of her arms above her head while he straddled her. With his free hand he gripped her chin and gently turned her head as if inspecting fine marble.

The seductive look of pure want in his eyes made Daphne's spine shudder. "Kiss me" she whispered.

"As you wish" he said in a husky tone before leaning down and doing just that. Daphne moaned as her husband's lips massaged themselves against her own. He had released her hands to hold onto her waist while her own hands ran through his long, thick red hair.

Ron's lips ventured lower, down her jaw and onto her neck. Daphne released soft sighs and moans as his hot lips went over her neck. Ron breathed in her scent and wasn't surprised when he got a slight mix of rose and the natural musky scent of a long day. He knew Daphne didn't care what people thought of her and so she didn't doll herself up much, but on occasion she liked to spoil herself. The rose smell was making Ron lose his control bit by bit. He just wanted to ravish her until she screamed so loud all of Ireland could hear her.

At the last minute he controlled himself as he breathed in one more intoxicating scent "I'm sorry" he whispered quietly.

Daphne merely held him as his face rested in the crook of her neck "I know darling, I know."

"This isn't what a young married couple is supposed to do" Ron said sadly. "We should be able to do what we wish; not hold back because of our positions."

"Don't say that Ron" Daphne said firmly. Ron looked up from her neck as she cupped one of his cheeks. "You are the future king of this country, you will soon rule all of the Wizarding World in Britain. Yes I am a little frustrated and I know you are too, but we must move on past this. Our world needs to be set back into balance for things to move forward. And it has to be you that does it."

Ron sat up sighing slightly leaning against the wall "Being a king is hard… and I'm not even the king yet" he groaned slightly before falling to the side on the bed. He felt Daphne's arms gently wrap around him. Turning around he stared into her green eyes as his left arm reached up and cradled her. "But for the one who put all her trust in me… I can't afford to fail."

Daphne smiled "And for the man who gave me freedom… I can't afford to fail." With one more kiss shared between them they fell asleep.

Come morning time Ron awoke to the typical heavenly sight he grew accustomed to over the last two years. Apparently it was a quirk to all those in the Greengrass line; they couldn't sleep in normal clothes and could only sleep in their knickers… or completely naked.

'Screw Veela… I think I married a nymph' Ron thought as he once more drunk in Daphne's amazing body. Now that he thought about it; it made sense. Of the two of them Daphne always seemed to be the one who was more sexually active, always teasing him and enjoying giving him small pinches that made him jump.

'Okay stop it before you do something you'll regret' Ron thought shaking his head before getting out of bed. Does this woman have no idea what she did to his libido every morning?

Suppressing his hormones Ron went downstairs for a drink only to blink when he found Blaise in the kitchen "Blaise" he said surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"We've got a problem" was all Blaise said and Ron knew something was bad.

Only half an hour later the Dragon's Garrison met at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade as it was the best place they could go to where no one could spy on them at all. Ron woke Daphne up and informed her of the situation. She was up and dressed in a flash and they left with Blaise and met Tracey and Theo at the Three Broomsticks.

Madam Rosmerta returned with their drinks "Alright, Butterbeer" she said. Ron raised his hand and she passed it to him. "Next is… Lemonade!" That one went to Daphne who gave a nod of thanks "The Bubble Juice." Tracey smiled and accepted the drink "Followed by… Gillywater." Theo merely raised his hand and accepted the drink with a small nod. "And finally the cherry syrup and soda." Blaise took the drink with a small thanks. "If you need a refill just call; it's on the house today."

"Thank you" Ron smiled. Once Rosmerta left the smile left his face and he turned to Blaise and the others "What's the word guys. Blaise doesn't just show up at 9 o'clock in the morning for nothing."

Tracey sighed a bit after sipping her bubble juice. "A change happened in the Ministry; Kingsley and Colin were found out." Ron managed to keep his cool neutrally as did Daphne, but a cold wind suddenly flew through the room. Madam Rosmerta quickly closed the door even thought nothing came in.

"Are they alright" was the first thing Ron said.

"Kingsley sustained a pretty bad curse to the chest. Busted about three of his ribs and Colin sustained an injury to his leg from a dark curse" Tracey said. "It didn't cut his leg off, but his femoral artery was severed. If Kingsley hadn't of gotten him to Theo when he did then Colin would've bled to death."

Ron's first thought was that Astoria was going to raise hell over this. Despite their stoic nature and cold disposition to strangers and outsiders the Greengrass Family was fiercely protective of those they cared about. If one was threatened they nearly exploded and if one was injured… then yikes

"How exactly were they busted" Daphne asked.

"No one knows" Tracey replied. "It just happened when the Minister came to arrest them for conspiracy, treason and espionage. They fought back, but the Minister was able to overpower them so quickly and so effortlessly. They were lucky Kingsley acted fast and got them out of there since the Minister had no intention of letting them live."

"Someone was powerful enough to overwhelm Kingsley so quick" Blaise murmured as his grip on his drink tightened. "That's not good."

"No kidding, but at least something… somewhat good came of this" Theo said with a nervous look to Ron.

"What, what happened" Ron asked quickly.

"While Kingsley had to act quickly to get him and Colin out of there he was able to ascertain the Minister's identity" Theo told them.

"Great, who is it" Daphne asked quickly wanting to know.

"Well… her identity comes with a shock" Tracey said very nervously.

"Her" Ron mirrored in confusion. "Who exactly is this new Minister?"

Theo and Tracey shared a nervous, anxious, and almost downright scared look between one another. Ron felt a bad feeling lodge itself in his chest. Finally Tracey spoke the name and the result made Ron's heart nearly stop from the sheer shock.

"Hermione Granger."

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flames will be ignored.


	23. Chapter 23

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter Twenty-Three)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

The moment the name left Tracey's mouth Ron shot up from his seat and went for the exit "Ron wait" Daphne called running after him, but the moment the door opened Ron vanished in a pop leaving his Garrison behind.

"He took it better than I thought" Theo admitted honestly.

"This is better" Blaise gave Theo a look like he was an idiot.

"I thought the whole place would've been up in flames" Theo said with a shrug. Contrary to belief that didn't make anyone feel better. Daphne was worried for her husband; she had never seen him look that mad before. She hoped he didn't do anything rash.

Little did she know that Ron didn't; he apparated all the way to Godric's Hollow. This was something that needed to be said to Harry. Harry NEEDED to know this. Appearing in Godric's Hollow Ron walked to Potter Cottage and it didn't take him long to find the house.

Opening the gate Ron ran up to the door and hastily knocked hard. A few minutes later Harry answered "Ron –" Harry said in surprise only for Ron to push past him and walk in. "Come in" Harry said dryly before shutting the door. "I don't mind a visit, but a little heads up would be nice."

"Not now Harry, something very bad has just happened" Ron said in a no nonsense voice.

"What" Harry said in a serious tone noticing how tense Ron was.

"The identity of the Minister has been found out" Ron said getting Harry's immediate attention. "Harry… it's Hermione." Harry had a look of absolute horror on his face as he remembered the last time he saw Hermione. When he was talking with Ginny in the hall and saw someone disappear around the corner.

Now that they both thought about it, it all made sense. Hermione was nowhere to be seen at all during the last few months of the war. With Voldemort taking control of the Ministry Muggle-borns were captured and taken to the Ministry and promptly given the Dementor's Kiss, but on the list of casualties Hermione's name wasn't there and nor did she show up to fight in the Battle of Hogwarts.

But still neither one of them expected this "What do we do now" Harry asked.

Ron was silent on the matter; he had prepared for any kind of situation, but nothing like this. This was against a former friend, someone he knew since he was eleven, and someone who he had shared many adventures with… and also his first crush.

Ron didn't realize his fists were clenched until he felt blood trickle from between his fingers. Finally he sighed "We'll keep working as we have been, but no more mercy. Anyone that comes after anyone of us will now perish. That will send a message that we are not to be taken lightly. In the meantime Harry, contact Lee and have him make a connection to every wizard and witch in all of the United Kingdom. Also have Fred and George pay a visit to Hermione's old home."

Harry nodded "What are you going to do" he asked.

"I have to… practice a kingly speech" Ron said mysteriously. With that Ron left his mind clear, but his heart heavy. He returned to Greengrass Manor and went straight to the other room and after grabbing his radio set he sat down in his chair with his radio set in front of him and waited for Harry to contact him.

Harry could always be depended on as only an hour later he showed up "Ron, Lee's all connected to every wizarding house in all of the United Kingdom."

"Excellent… and what about Fred and George" he asked.

"They made it to Hermione's house and found nothing" Harry informed him. "However… neighbors informed them that the people who owned that house were murdered a year ago."

"What" Ron said standing up quickly. "Take me there" he said. Harry nodded and after gripping Ron's arm where they vanished in a pop. They reappeared near Shaftsbury Ave. which was near the local graveyard near Hermione's home. Hastily walking to the local graveyard they searched around for the graves until Ron spotted something "Harry, over here." Harry ran over and they spotted the two graves.

RICHARD GRANGER JANICE GRANGER

April 16th 1948 – January 30th 1998 November 3rd 1950 – January 30th 1998

A loving couple who went before their time!

There was the undeniable truth, but that still left out one damnable piece of puzzle missing; who was the culprit who committed the murder and where was Hermione? All of the Death Eaters were taken down almost a month earlier so it couldn't have been one of them. It could have been a Death Eater supporter who did it, but they all fled the country when the war ended.

What the hell was going on? "You don't think…" Harry began. Ron looked at him "You don't think that… Hermione…?"

"NO, no" Ron denied vehemently. "We knew Hermione remember, she knew spells, but didn't cast them on anyone. Besides why would she do it; she had a great relationship with her parents."

"A lot changes in three years… remember" Harry said quietly. Ron said nothing except Apparate away with a loud pop. Harry sighed and followed after him unaware that they were both being watched.

Reappearing back at Greengrass Manor Ron went to his radio set while Harry contacted Lee. Ron had practiced this speech a few times in his mind and knew that no matter what he had to get it all right. This speech would bring all of the scattered supporters together and it may even convince a few to come to their side.

"Okay Ron, Lee says you're all hooked up" Harry reported.

Ron nodded "Let's hope to Merlin this works" he murmured before tuning his radio in. Once the radio was tuned in Ron began "To all those listening to this broadcast, this is Ronald Weasley, Leader of the Dragon's Garrison and Future King of the witches and wizards of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. I do not know if all of you believe that the revolution that I am leading is right, and you are all free to choose how you wish to deal with it. If you are against it then I am sorry, if you are neutral then I promise we will not bother you. If you are with us then you're support is very well appreciated, but for those who do not know how to deal with this then please listen to me. The Ministry of Magic is doing all they can to suppress our actions because they are afraid to give up their way of life. I am not trying to slander the Ministry; for as long as they have existed they have done many good things, but recent actions suggest as such. The Dragon's Garrison was formed by five Hogwarts students all at the age of 15 or less for few and simple reasons. One of those reasons is because we wanted to help others where the Ministry could not. They denied the return of Voldemort costing many innocent's their lives and by the time they did accept his return it was too late to do anything about it. That kind of ill-prepared action and unwillingness to accept the truth cannot happen again. I am offering this nation a chance to change and bring about a new future. The time of the previous King, Luther, was so long ago, but back then he was beloved by all his subjects. I want to bring that time back and give everyone a fresh new start under a different rule. I know, taking the comfort of something away to bring in a new risky system that hasn't been used in over 12 centuries would leave more than a few people hesitant, but I implore you, every one of you. Please… trust me, my friends and my loyal followers. We can bring about a better world… but we can't do it alone. A new nation is not built upon the power of a single pillar… it's built upon all the many pillars that support the main one. If you wish to join the revolution then someone will be there to contact you. Thank you and may Merlin bless you all."

With that Ron turned off his radio and breathed a sigh. Turning to Harry he saw he was receiving a look of absolute awe "What" he said.

"Mate… that was awesome" Harry said clapping Ron on the shoulder with a grin. "I don't think anyone, but Dumbledore, could've done it better." Ron blushed slightly rubbing the back of his head, but accepted the compliment.

Little did they know that in a small cottage near Greater London someone clicked their radio off. "You've really become very charming in the last three and a half years Ronald. It's almost going to be a shame what I'll have to do… almost." The voice was soft like a woman's night voice, but held a dangerous tint sharper than any thorn. With that the person vanished in a pop.

Over the next two weeks everyone seemed to want to fight. Ron was right when he said someone would be there to contact them. With help from Blaise the two of them created a spell that tracked down people who supported them. It was almost like how the Patronus charm works when transporting messages to others. It got to all of the supporters and they were given a time and date for the meeting to take place.

Ron was currently on his way downstairs as he had a lot of work to do today; he had just implanted Nymphadora Tonks back into the Auror department as their new spy, but had her use her Metamorphmagus abilities to completely disguise herself under a different name and aliases. Hopefully the name Kendra MacFarlane would work.

Right as he was about to leave Nicholas called out to him "You've got a letter son."

"Thank you" Ron said taking the letter. Opening it he read the letter:

Your majesty,

We have finished building your dwelling; please meet us at Housedon Hill in Northumberland. We are most anxious to show you.

McCrew's Building Crew.

Ron was now very excited and after putting the letter in his pocket he apparated away. He reappeared in a small grassy plain near the hill. Looking to his left he saw the quaint wizarding village of Flannery Flats. It was a rather decent sized towns with a few pubs, cobblestone roads and very comfy looking cottages. There was a small river that flowed behind the town.

Ron climbed up the hill to the other side and his eyes widened in absolute shock; so much shock that he fell to the ground on his bum. He didn't know how long he was sitting there, but when he felt arms helping up he snapped out of his shock "Are you alright your majesty" a concerned person asked.

Ron saw it was the head builder, McCrew, himself "Wh-What is this" he asked pointing out into the distance.

McCrew laughed good-naturedly "Oh that explains your shock." For good reason too because what Ron saw was DEFINITELY not what he expected. What he saw was not a cottage, not a simple house and it wasn't even a mansion.

It was a CASTLE!

Yep, a huge castle that spanned more than 60 meters in height and more than a 100 meters in length. The castle looked to be made of the finest pure white stone with the top of each tower a royal blue color with the color denoting that it was the utmost royal living there. There were two large towers on either side of the castle with a flag billowing in the wind atop the towers. If Ron squinted hard enough he could see that they were same symbol that his Garrison wore on their cloaks. The main part of the castle was simply amazing to look at as it looked to have over 300 rooms at the least. The tallest tower was surrounded by two slightly shorter towers with the flag atop all three. The roofs were same color as the top of the tower. The castle was surrounded by a stone gate about 25 meters in height with a single entrance and a road that led up to the entrance. The lake near Flannery Flats was manually directed to make a very small lake near the castle.

"This castle took us almost two full years to complete" McCrew said with pride. "Built it from the ground up with pure sweat, muscle and a bit of magic. We'd love to give you a complete tour, but we think it best if Lady Greengrass was here as well."

Ron could only nod as he was still in shock before turning to them "Guys… I…" was all Ron could say as he was getting choked. Laughing with a few tears going down his face he wiped them away before saying "You got me all choked up" he chuckled softly. "I… no words I can say can express what I feel."

"There is no thanks necessary your majesty" McCrew smiled. Then he blushed a bit as did his crew "Actually… there is one thing."

"Anything, just name it" Ron said with a large smile.

"It's not about any payment; this is for free. It's more of a request" McCrew said with more embarrassment before muttering something.

"What was that" Ron asked as he couldn't hear them.

McCrew raised his head "All we would ask is to be able to shake the hand of the mighty Dragon King. For he is the kindest and bravest wizard of the ages."

Ron merely smiled again; these men just built him a magnificent home and castle for him, his wife and children and the only payment they asked for was to shake his hand. Ron shook hands with each one of them and saved his final handshake for McCrew himself. He shook McCrew's hand before placing both of his own on the builder's shoulder "May you be blessed" he said softly. "You and all of your families" he added to the rest of the workers. The workers all smiled and felt their own emotions begin to get the better of each other "If you wouldn't mind waiting for a bit I'll go and get Daphne."

"It's no trouble" McCrew responded. With that Ron turned and disapparated heading back to Greengrass Manor. It was early, perhaps only nine o'clock at best so Daphne would still be asleep. This would wake her up better than any coffee could.

Getting back to the manor he entered and went upstairs to his and Daphne's room. He found Daphne sleeping on her back with her left arm behind her head and the sheets pulled up barely above her breasts. Seeing her bare upper chest Ron knew she probably wasn't wearing anything under there.

Leaning down he placed his lips on hers in a small kiss before he began to increase the kiss by gently slipping his tongue into her mouth. Ron knew she woke up when she began to respond to the kiss and began to kiss him back. Her left arm rose up and went around the back of his neck holding him in place as the kissed each other.

After a few minutes Ron pulled back and stared at her flushed cheeks and half-lidded green eyes. "This is a nice wake up" she smiled.

Ron grinned "I bet. Get dressed; I've got a hell of a surprise for you." Daphne was surprised, but nodded and got dressed and followed Ron downstairs.

"You going to tell me what the surprise is" Daphne asked.

"I could… but then it wouldn't be a surprise would it" Ron said cheekily. Daphne crossed her arms looking stern, but Ron merely chuckled "Trust me, you won't regret it." Daphne looked reluctant, surprises were never really her thing, but eventually nodded. Ron grabbed her hand and then he apparated away with her.

They reappeared outside of Housedon Hill "Why are we here" Daphne asked.

"You'll see" Ron said before he grabbed her hand with one hand and put his other hand around her waist "Close your eyes." Daphne grunted; she really didn't like surprises. "Just do it; trust you will NOT regret it" he assured her.

"Fine" she sighed closing her eyes as Ron led her up the hill. When they got near the top Ron made a shushing motion to the workers and they went quiet. "Are we there yet" she asked.

"Oh yeah" Ron said with a waiting grin. "Alright… open your eyes." Daphne did and she had the same exact reaction as Ron did. However when she began to fall Ron caught her "You're lucky I'm here; no one was here to catch me when I fell."

"Ron… what is this" she asked breathless.

"This is our new home" Ron said getting Daphne to look at him wide eyed. "This is McCrew and his crew of builders. They came to me barely two years ago and wished to build a home for us as a way of thanking me for everything I did. They told me they were building a dwelling that was fit for royalty. I now see what they meant." Ron and the McCrew gang all laughed slightly.

Daphne was still trying to get over her shock "All of this… it's ours."

"Ours and our children's" Ron said holding her from behind.

Daphne just continued to stare at the beautiful castle as the wind billowed through their bodies. "Can… Can we go inside" she asked almost childishly.

Ron smiled "Of course… that's why I brought you here. They're going to give us the grand tour."

"If you will follow us your highnesses" McCrew said with a grin before leading them to the castle. Once they got through the gate, it was beautiful. The insides of the gate had a small field full of green lush grass with a single twenty foot tree in the middle. Passing through the courtyard they made it to the main entrance and even though the doors were almost as big as the front gates they were easy to open.

Once inside they were witnessed to a large grand staircase that led up to upper levels while on either side were large relaxation rooms that led to other rooms. The kitchens were located on the first floor as was a stable. On the next floors there was all guest rooms. The same applied for the next four floors. On the third floor in the front was the Master Bedroom that was the biggest room of them all with a set of double doors in front of the second floor grand staircase.

There were passageways that led to the two towers on either side of the castle, but the section out back was by far the most beautiful. The back had beautiful lush grass like the front and a large fountain that had two dragons coiling at each end spewing water into the fountains, but the shocking part was that there was a pair of lions back there. A proud lion king and his lioness.

"We thought this would be a nice gift" McCrew said as the lion and lioness wandered over to them. While Daphne looked slightly nervous Ron was not as he walked up and met the two big cats. Reaching out he let the lion sniff his hand before he got a lick in return making him smile. He pet the lion who leaned into his touch with a loud purr. "They're very tame; they've been specially bred since birth to be companions to wizards who showed them no fear. Plus lions always seem to fit with royalty ever since the time of the Ancient Mesopotamian Kings."

Seeing her husband with the lion made Daphne get some new found courage where she reached out for the lioness. The lioness sniffed Daphne's hand making her giggle slightly as the wet nose and whiskers tickled before the lioness leaned into her hand. Daphne smiled as she pet the large lioness.

"That's not all" McCrew said before giving a loud whistle. A large cry got their attention as they looked up and saw a large falcon fly from a structure behind the backyard and land on McCrew's arm. "We figures you'd want advanced methods of sending messages. These falcons were generously donated by a close friend of mine who breeds falcons for both wizards and muggles alike. As you can see" he pointed to the small bandana around the falcon's neck. "Each falcon bears the symbol of dragon; the official seal of the king to let all know who exactly they've received the message from. To call them, just give a whistle and hold your arm out; these falcons are bred to deliver messages and even hunt should you wish."

Ron and Daphne were getting overwhelmed by everything; it was all so surreal. McCrew's workmates were seeing that "Boss, why don't we show them the last part and call it a job well done" he said.

"Aw quite" McCrew said with sheepishness before he had the falcon fly back to the falconry. "We have one more room left to visit; the King's Chambers." He gestured them to follow and they did. They went up three flights of stairs this time and down the hallway until coming to a set of red doors. McCrew opened the doors revealing a massive mahogany table with a stone threshold at the end where two large thrones sat. One throne was bright gold and the other was a shining silver. "We figures as King and Queen you two would be having many meetings with important people so we designed this meeting hall for when you would need to have guests for… private meetings."

Ron was very much impressed "Yes… yes this is perfect. It's all perfect" he said with sincerity. Turning to McCrew he looked like he was going to shake hands with him before he outright hugged him tightly. McCrew was absolutely shocked before hesitantly putting his own arms around the young man. Pulling back with a grin Ron finished by saying "You're the absolute best."

He stepped back as Daphne stepped forward and with a beautiful smile she said "Thank you." Then she laid a soft kiss on McCrew's cheek. McCrew went bright red and got woozy; his men had to help him out as he was too woozy to walk. Ron and Daphne watched the whole thing and chuckled slightly before kissing. Later that afternoon:

"AAAWWW… YOU LUCKY BASTARD!"

A loud shouted echoed all throughout Housedon Hills. The loud shout came from the King's older twin brother's Fred and George. Ron had called his main revolutionary lieutenants over to discuss a plan. Those main lieutenants consisted of Fred, George, Harry, Ginny, Lee, Arthur, Colin, Sirius, Nicholas and his Garrison.

Everyone had now seen the castle as they had apparated there, but they had yet to see the inner part… and some wondered if they ever would if Fred and George would stop chasing Ron around shouting death threats and stop cursing him.

Harry didn't know whether to help Ron, join the twins or fall over laughing. However a sharp jab from Ginny made that decision for him "Gentlemen that's enough" he said running over and helping Ron deal with the raging twins.

Ron stood up with a breath straightening his robes "Now… can we get started" he asked rhetorically. The twins still grumbled slightly, but relented and followed Ron into his castle. Upon seeing the inside the twins almost attacked him again, but withheld and followed him to the third floor to the King's Chambers.

Once inside everyone took a seat with Ron and Daphne sitting at the table and not the thrones since nothing was official yet. "So Tracey have you discovered anything yet" Daphne asked.

Tracey shook her head "No, Granger's a crafty one alright; she's covering all her trails… virtually impossible to tract or spy on."

"Tonks has kept her disguise up" Sirius reported. "She's reported no massive movement."

"Granger's too crafty" Theo said. "If she would be moving a massive force it would be nowhere within the ministry."

"Perhaps she would have made a decent Slytherin" Blaise murmured to himself.

"I'm sure we can all agree that something is being planned; the question is where is it being planned and when will it be launched" Arthur summarized.

"I've locked in all radio communications" Lee told everyone. "If she's communicating through radio I'll know about it."

"There's been no movement through Diagon Alley either" George reported. "No massive movement that is."

"We did see a few blokes from the Ministry skulking around our joke shop" Fred said. "Almost hexed the wanker too, but he left before I could do anything."

Ron hummed in thought before Nicholas spoke "What should you suggest we do?" Ron was silent as he looked to be deep in thought, but just as he opened his mouth to speak the door blew open. Everyone jumped to their feet wands out, but stopped when they saw it was just a large white ball. Their guards remained up as they watched the white ball float into the center of the table.

Then the ball spoke "Nice meeting, may I join in?"

Everyone recognized the voice "Hermione" Ron murmured.

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flames will be ignored.


	24. Chapter 24

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter Twenty-Four)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Everyone in the room was extremely tense as they stared at the floating ball of light "How did you find this location" Ron asked tersely.

"You like to think you're clever at hiding your secrets, but in reality you are rather easy to predict" Hermione's voice said. Just by the tone everyone could tell she was mocking.

"Enough, why did you contact us" Daphne demanded.

"My, so few manners" Hermione's mocking voice said again. Daphne grit her teeth slightly "But I did send this message for a reason. I know that you're planning a way to take me down and stop the Ministry to create a brand new world and establish Ronald as the new King, but not everything goes so smoothly. In 24 hours my forces and I will attack Greater London and completely annihilate it, from Big Ben all the way to the House of Parliament. If you wish to stop the Death of Queen Elizabeth, the one who gave you the power to be King then I hope you show up in time. The choice is yours." And with that the glowing ball vanished.

Silence was what was present in the hall until Harry spoke "What are your orders Ron" he asked.

Ron stood up "Garrison" he said and his four subordinates stood up. "Gather all those who have answered the call of the dragon. Meet at the outskirts of Greater London by tonight. The rest of us will meet you there."

"Right" they all said before leaving the room. Ron and Daphne shared one last look that conveyed all they would need to know before she left with the rest of the Garrison.

"In the meantime" Ron said as he cut off a piece of the chair he was sitting in before re-growing the piece he broke off. "Portus" he murmured as the piece of wood glowed. Setting it down he said "When the rest of you have set your affairs in order grab the Portkey and we'll meet up." With that Ron vanished in a loud crack.

He reappeared in a small forest and stood in a small path that led to the outskirts of Greater London. All of these trees would provide perfect cover for a large battalion. Ron stayed near the trees in case a muggle would happen to wonder by in a car or on a hike. When everyone else showed up enchantments would be put up to protect everyone.

He waited about fifteen minutes until the sound of a whoosh got his attention. Turning he saw everyone appearing with the Portkey "We hiding here" Colin asked looking around.

Ron nodded "This spot will provide cover for a large force. The trees will defend everyone and keep them hidden; when they all show up enchantments will be put up to hide us from muggles and other things."

So in the meantime all they could do was wait and co-mingle with one another. Everyone had already set their affairs before leaving to join the final part of the revolution. Fred and George said their goodbyes to their girlfriends Alicia and Angelina respectfully while Arthur secretly apparated near the Hogwarts grounds and visited his wife's grave just to talk for a while. He still missed her so dearly, but he still lived on strongly.

Colin had written a letter to Astoria telling her of what was going to happen and that he hoped to spend the upcoming Christmas with her family. He borrowed one of Ron's Falcons to send the message as did Nicholas who wrote a letter to his wife as well. Harry and Ginny were already ready and waited for the others spending their time conveying everything to one another and telling each other that they would both be okay and nothing would happen to them. Sirius had left somewhere to visit someone, probably Remus, before coming back.

Now they could do nothing but wait; Harry and Ron sat together looking forlorn and miserable. "Oh man they look terrible" Colin murmured as he saw their slumped dispositions.

"Of course they do" Sirius said softly. "They're about to be confronted by their former friend. It's never easy… and always painful." Sirius was still feeling the pain of having to kill Peter; when he first escaped Azkaban he wasn't all together and slightly insane so the last thing he was feeling was remorse, but when he finally faced his former friend again and dealt him the death blow with Remus he didn't have time to feel anything because of the battle. Yet when it all calmed down he felt a feeling of a persistent ache that wouldn't go away.

It took about 30 more minutes until there was the sound of multiple cracks. Everyone turned to the thick trees until people started walking out. They came walking, dozens by dozens, witches, wizards and creatures alike. The most amazing thing, in Ron's opinion, was the centaurs actually showed up to fight. Ron's amazement must have shown because one of the centaurs walked up to him.

"Many of your kind have restricted us to tiny territories hard for us to survive" the mighty centaur said. "Yet you, a wizard of pureblood status, would treat us like we are one of your own. A most curious human you are."

Ron smiled slightly "Like I've always said; blood status means nothing to me. At the end of the day we all bleed red blood." The centaur gave the closest thing it had to a smile before he, and the herd with him, shocked everyone by giving a small bow to Ron.

"We fight… for the King" he said.

Ron nodded to them all and gave his own small bow before straightening up. With that he turned to all of those who had chosen to fight and began to look at them all. They all had their wands held tightly in their hand standing straight and proud.

"We are with you sire. For Freedom, for our country; to the death" the voice of Seamus Finnegan said proudly. Ron turned to his friend and gave him a nod with a half-smile. By the look on everyone else's face they all felt the same even the ones who showed by surprise. Clearly he had spotted Malfoy standing amongst the crowd looking stoic, but determined.

Ron finally stopped and he spoke "For everyone who has shown up I thank you all" he said honestly. "I do not know what kind of horrors we walk into, but the road ahead of us is not an easy straightforward road. It is a road filled with rough patches and bumps. However, as your leader, I will do my utmost best to lead us forward to victory."

"HUA, HUA, HUA" the crowd cheered loudly.

Ron felt his confidence beginning to grow "Tonight my subjects, rest like kittens, but tomorrow… charge like lions." They all cheered once more. For victory, for valor and for a bright new future; that was what they all cheered and hoped for.

The night before was everyone spending time with one another co-mingling and waiting for the final fight to begin. It was going to be a fight of epic proportions and everyone there knew there was going to be a possibility that they would die, but it didn't matter to them. They had pledged their loyalty to Ron and his ideals of a new world and they would not run. Even if meant death they didn't care; they were ready to die… every single one of them… ready to die.

Sort of strange… almost two years ago they had all finished a battle with Voldemort and now tomorrow on the morning of October 3rd… everything would change again.

The sun came peaking over the hills far too soon for Ron's liking; he had barely slept a wink all night, but upon waking up he looked out from the trees into the county of Greater London and hadn't seen anything yet even though this was just a small part of the county.

"Ron" Lee called urgently. Ron turned as Lee ran up to him "It's begun."

Ron's eyes widened; it hadn't been twenty-four hours yet. He raced back with Lee "Early… the fucking bitch is early" he grunted rushing back to the radio with Lee. Lee reported to him that an emergency broadcast came from some wizards in Greater London that they were being attacked before an explosion occurred and then everything went silent.

Calling everyone to attention Ron called "This battle is upon us earlier than we all anticipated. But from free wizards to all, let our enemy know that bold King Ronald and his comrades stood and fought so far from home for the freedom they believe in. Now… on this county known as Greater London… Granger's Horde's face obliteration."

"HUA" everyone roared.

"Out there the barbarians hollow a wretched fear gripping tight knowing full well what kind of terror they soon face" Ron continued his voice becoming more powerful. "They lie in wait knowing full well that 500 forces soon charge at them commanding the power of freedom. HUA."

"HUA, HUA, HUA" they all roared raising their wands with each cheer.

"The enemy outnumbers us 3 to 1; that's great odds for any wizard" he continued "This day we rescue a world from tyranny and oppression and bring forth a future more brighter than we can imagine." With that Ron drew his sword and Excalibur glowed brightly in the sun "Now we charge… for freedom."

Simultaneously everyone vanished in a pop heading off to battle.

In the main town of Greater London, known as the City of London, the attack had already begun; buildings were being destroyed and people were fleeing in absolute terror. The British army had shown up to combat the attack, but were stunned when their guns were turned into snakes that attacked them.

That was the scene Ron and his comrades came to "Go" he roared and they all charged. The wizards and witches of the Ministry saw them coming and their targets changed and they all attacked. They shouted and cursed, launching spells wildly, more brawlers than warriors. They began making a wondrous mess of things. Brave fighters, they do their part.

In the matter of an hour they had begun to push them back loosing little forces because of proper planning. "We have them on the run" Harry shouted.

"Don't stop" Ron roared in return as they continued charging all throughout London running through every alleyway and atop every building. They attacked every Ministry force that they spotted not showing an ounce of mercy.

Victory was near; the Garrison shouted in triumph raising their bloodied swords into the air. Then the Ministry Forces began to retreat surprising everyone, as a single figure began to step forward. The person was rather short covered in a deep black cloak wearing a very dark emerald green battle dress that looked almost black. A single wand was clenched in the person's right hand while a sword was strapped to the waist.

Ron stepped forward as the person stopped "Surrender… you're surrounded, your forces decimated and you have nowhere to go."

"Oh is that what you think" the person said making Ron tense. "Why don't you look up?" The sky suddenly became very dark and it began to rumble; daring to look up everyone saw the sky began to let loose a torrential rain before a lightning bolt struck down right in the center of everyone.

It was like a blinding flash; one minute Ron was standing and the next minute he was down. When his mind came back to him he dislodged himself from a building. Rubbing his eyes to rid himself of the spots he could only stare in shock.

The one strike of lightning had landed in the middle of his forces and took out over half of them in a single hit. Ron felt a pain and anger he hadn't felt since the Battle of Hogwarts and also a sort of disbelief that this could happen.

"I'd say we're about even now" the voice said. Ron turned to the person and stood up with a grunt of anger. The person tossed the cloak to the side revealing the face of Hermione Granger. She looked just as she did three years ago and Ron couldn't help, but notice that she still retained the beauty he saw in her all those years ago.

"You're a Storm Mage" Ron pointed out.

"Quite" Hermione responded as everyone behind Ron began to get up dazedly. "Just like how you are a Fire Mage, only I am more special than you are. I am the first storm mage since Salazar Slytherin himself."

"In some cases that would be something to be proud of, but right now that's the exact opposite" Ron said with a glare. "What happened to you Hermione?"

Hermione was silent before she simply drew the sword on her side "No talking; we fight now." She raised her sword and brought it down. Her forces roared and charged past Hermione and Ron as they just stood there staring at each other. The surviving forces behind Ron began battling all over again.

"You want to fight… fine" Ron said before launching a stunning jinx. Hermione easily countered with the same jinx and they held each other in a standoff. They held each other in a standoff until lightning bolts began to fly from Hermione's body; Ron, in return, managed to fire and manipulate the flames from his left hand to block the lightning before they broke off with Ron creating a dragon of fire and Hermione a tiger made of water.

While both beasts battled with each other they charged and clashed with their swords. When their swords met they held in a standoff with both of their sword emitting a wind and eerie golden glow. "That's not a normal sword" Ron murmured.

Hermione heard him "You're right… this is Clarent; the Radiant and Brilliant Royal Sword. The sword of the knight Mordred."

Ron's eyes widened as he heard that; he was facing the sword that killed the predecessor of the sword he possessed. Ron mentally cursed, this couldn't be any worse, but he refused to let history repeat itself. Breaking the standoff Ron swung Excalibur strongly at Hermione, but she blocked all of his strikes before waving her wand taking the earth out under him. With a burst of fire from his foot Ron propelled himself over her strike and avoided her trap. He had to take a little evasive action to avoid the lightning bolts flying from her fingers.

Enhancing his powers Ron took control of the lightning bolts she launched at him and turned them around on her. Wordlessly she erected a shield charm "Time Alter: Double Accel" Ron shot toward Hermione intent on ending her with one blow, but was shocked when she blocked him and even kicked him back 'What' he thought shocked.

"You look so surprised" Hermione said making Ron tense. "Yes I know all about your Time Alter Spell; you can move at a speed that cannot be detected by human eyes."

"Then how did you see through it" Ron demanded.

"While not as battle oriented as your own spell is I've invented my own Time Manipulation spell" she said making Ron go wide eyed. "I couldn't figure out how you could manipulate the time around your body to accelerate so instead I created a special barrier around myself, which I like to call a Reality Marble. Time flows differently inside the Reality Marble and even though I was only in there for a year in the outside world it was the equivalence of ten years in there."

Ron's eyes widened; ten years spent nothing but training. That was a scary thought and it also explained why Hermione was so strong right now. And to think she spent an entire year in there "What happened to you" was all Ron could ask.

He got a cold frown in return "Losing the only friends you ever had can do strange things to a person."

"Is that why you killed your parents" Ron asked hoping to get a reaction. Hermione stilled and she visibly tensed "You were the one who did it didn't you… why?"

"They feared me" she murmured a minute later. "They feared my powers… started calling me mental… going to lock me up" she babbled madly. Ron frowned, but seeing as she was distracted Ron launched a jet of flames at her. Hermione woke up and protected herself with a shield of water. "Being around Slytherins has made you like them" she sneered.

"That's not exactly a bad thing" Ron sneered in return before they charged again. It seemed that despite Hermione's equivalence of ten years training her and Ron were exactly equal. Behind them the battle with both of their forces was coming to an end. Harry kicked the last one to the ground and stabbed him with the Sword of Gryffindor before he joined the remainder of the survivors in watching the last duel.

It was amazing; every spell they cast seemed to make the earth quake, the buildings shuddered and the sky roared. It was amazing to watch, but also terrifying because no one knew who would come out as the victor.

Hermione's storm powers seemed to have Ron on the edge a lot as she manipulated the ferocity of the storm, the water, the lightning, the wind and even turned the water to ice. Ron's fire powers protected him from the ice, and his lightning manipulation saved him from many fatal attacks. When they weren't using magic they clashed with their swords.

Finally they jumped back a bit; Hermione assessed him 'He's just as powerful as the rumors proclaimed him to be. But since I know his true speed all I need to do is adjust my speed to compensate.'

Ron was also planning 'Her magic is very powerful and she's got knowledge on her side. My edge with the Time Alter is useless. The only edge I have is my Excalibur and Draconis Bellator. I need to land one good blow before I resort to either of those.' Then suddenly before Ron could blink Hermione was in front of him with her right fist clenched 'So fast' was all he could think before pain exploded in his chest.

Hermione had punched him… incredibly hard; the sound of his ribs and sternum cracking echoed before he was launched back with a silver burst of wind where he impacted with a building. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he gasped futilely. Hermione breathed out as the silver wind on her palm vanished.

Ron then fell to his knees and face first onto the ground; blood leaked from his mouth and his blue eyes were blank and lifeless.

For a second no one could breathe; an ice cold feeling purged deep into their hearts as they saw Ron lying there motionlessly. No, it couldn't be true; Hermione looked at him emotionlessly before turning to the others intent on ending it.

Then the sound of rocks shifting made everyone turn around as the sound of spells being fired got Hermione's attention. A cutting curse cut the side of her forehead before she brought her wand up and erected a shield charm.

It was Ron with his wand in left hand firing spells "Time Alter: Double Accel." Everyone just became a lot slower as Ron stood up. Hermione charged at Ron, but Ron saw her moving far too slow to catch him in time; tossing his wand to the ground Ron cupped his fingers to this palm on his right hand with his index and middle finger extended. Moving his arm around lightning began to spark on his fingers as Hermione got closer. Bringing his arm up Ron's fingers sparked before the Heart of the Dragon around his chest glowed; his lightning turned black as Ron pointed his fingers at Hermione while his left hand went on the spot between his forearm and elbow to brace his arm.

His Time Alter spell expiring Ron launched a small black lightning bolt from his fingertips; it shot like a bullet heading right for Hermione. The Dark Witch erected a shield charm, but the lightning bolt burst right through the shield making Hermione go wide eyed before it pierced through her right shoulder and out the other side impacting with a building destroying it completely.

Hermione panted in slight pain as her right arm hung limply while blood flowed down the left side of her face into her eye. Ron gasped trying to regain his breath before breathing out and spitting a bit of blood from his mouth.

"How" Hermione muttered "I crushed your heart… how are you still alive?"

"Who cares" Ron said with a smirk as he still panted slightly. But secretly he wondered the same thing; he thought for sure he was dead, but suddenly he was as good as new even though his chest hurt like hell right now. Instead he focused on the battle 'Her advantage at close range is enormous. My lightning magic did damage, I need to recover my wand… but… I did something' he thought staring at her slightly smoking shoulder.

Hermione was likewise thinking 'It seems that he has some way to regenerate from severe injuries; I must go for the brain then… however' her eyes turned to her limp arm. 'My right arm has been disabled.'

'Whatever this healing is; it must work on all lethal injuries so I must protect my brain' Ron thought. 'I have Excalibur's attack and Draconis Bellator left.'

'I have my Clarent Blood Arthur and my Tigris Bellator' Hermione had also listed off the secrets she had left in her mind.

'Time Alter' Ron thought shifting his stance making Hermione narrow her eyes. 'Triple Accel.' He was in front of Hermione faster than she could blink making her wide eyed as he aimed a punch at her, but she managed to bring up her left arm to block him. Bringing his sword out Ron swung at her; she leaned to the side as the two of them flipped over each other before they began clashing blades. Hermione blocked all of Ron's two handed strikes with her one hand, with both of them visibly straining from the effort of attacking before Hermione struck with her left leg sending Ron off balance.

"Time Alter" he quickly initiated the spell as Hermione's sword came for his head "Square Accel." Suddenly it was like Hermione was launched forward from a massive kick before a ball of light hit her left leg sending her to her knee for a moment. Ron reappeared by his wand picking up before shouting "Expulso." The explosion hex Hermione launching her back through the side of a building.

Meanwhile Ron collapsed against a building panting so hardly he was almost hyperventilating. "Ron" Harry ran over to him and supported him. He could feel Ron's rapid heart rate and it slightly scared him.

"Stand back" Blaise said pulling Harry away from Ron. "Just wait" he said to the protesting Potter.

Ron straightened up and barely managed to gasp out "T-Time Alter: Triple S-Stagnate." Suddenly he was beginning to look so much more relaxed; his heart rate began to slow down. Finally he released a soft breath and stood up straight; he was no longer straining or gasping, but he was sweating heavily.

"Did you do it" Colin asked quietly. "Is it over?"

Ron shook his head wiping the sweat from his brow "No, she's still kicking. If it was that easy to beat her I wouldn't have had so much trouble." Sure enough in a wisp of white smoke Hermione reappeared "I hate it when I'm right" he muttered.

Hermione then clapped with a smirk startling Ron since she could move her arm "Well played Ronald, well played indeed."

"How…" was all Ron could say.

"How did I heal my right arm" she smirked rotating her shoulder. She held up her wand, which Ron noticed was not Hermione's original vine wood wand. This wand was longer and seemed to have a multitude of round studs around it separated by about three inches. "With this wand of course."

"A regular wand couldn't heal a lightning burn that quick and certainly not the damaged tissue and joints" Ron said.

"You're absolutely right… normal wands… but the Elder Wand can" she smirked.

"The Elder Wand" Ron murmured.

Hermione chuckled "You don't quite know of the Elder Wand do you? Not surprising" she said holding the wand delicately. "The Elder Wand is a wand that is more powerful than any other wand known to date; a wand that was said to be manufactured by death itself. It's wand more powerful than any wand in existence."

Ron remembered a story that his mum used to read him about a wand like that; the Tale of the Three Brothers. "The Elder Wand's a myth" he said quickly.

"Oh no it's not" Hermione smirked. "Would you care to take a closer look at the wand." She held it up and by looking at its particular design Ron did recognize it.

"Professor Dumbledore's wand" he gasped.

Hermione nodded "Correct; how do you think Professor Dumbledore remained so strong during his elder years; it was because he won the Elder Wand from Gellert Grindelwald in their duel back in 1945 and the wand became his… until the summer of 1997 when Malfoy was ordered to kill Dumbledore." Draco flinched slightly remembering that year of hell. "You disarmed Dumbledore atop the Astronomy Tower… and from then on… the wand's allegiance was to him." Everyone looked at Draco who was looking very uncomfortable "At least until May of 1998."

Draco looked up alarmed "That was you" he gasped.

Hermione gave him a sinister smile "Yeah, it was. For those of you who are slow; I attacked Draco that May, disguised of course and overpowered him. That's when the Elder Wand's allegiance turned to me." The reality began to set in on everyone "And now with the most powerful wand under my control… I'll end you."

"We'll see about that" Ron said summoning Excalibur to his hand. Golden magic began to swirl around the blade. Hermione smirked and held up her own blade. Suddenly it began to glow red. Ron charged while Hermione charged as well. They met in a mighty clash and both grunted in exertion trying to hold each other back before they both jumped back.

"What" Ginny gasped. "How did she hold up; Excalibur is the most powerful blade in the world. Nothing can match it."

"You are right" Arthur said in a soft tone.

"He's right" Nicholas said. "Excalibur's power is unmatched; a single swing can scorch this earth beyond repair… and it's the exact reason he can't use it." He got confused looks in return "In a dense city like this surrounded by buildings on all sides if he uses Excalibur then there's a chance he could destroy nearly this entire city… even the entire county."

Ron was at a disadvantage being unable to use his blade's golden magic power to launch its attack, so he had to improvise. Hermione was done waiting "Clarent Blood Arthur" she announced as her body was surrounded in a red glow. She charged at Ron and attacked. Ron was having a hard time defending from these attacks as it felt like she just became a lot stronger.

Getting some distance Ron shouted "Reducto." The Reductor curse hit, but Hermione blocked it and swung it into a building before charging. "Carpe Retractum" he called pointing his wand up. An orange rope snagged a flag pole and pulled Ron up as Hermione sliced the ground in front of him. Grunting she jumped up and charged after him manipulating the existing storm to attack him with lightning bolts and ice needles.

Coating his body with a thin layer of fire Ron stopped the needles and maneuvered himself to avoid the lightning as he kept pulling himself higher up the building while Hermione chased after him. Pulling himself to the top of the building Ron tripped and pointed his wand at Hermione just as she came up "Impedimenta." Hermione was launched back but used the power of her wind to fly up.

"You think something like that can stop me" she roared as she waved her arms. A lightning bolt struck down and hit… her? It seemed she had empowered herself with the lightning "I am lightning Ronald and now you will be struck down." She charged at him.

Ron smirked "You know Hermione, I find being up here to be more advantageous than you. You see, up here, I don't have to worry about scorching the earth with my blade." Excalibur glowed brightly, even more brightly than it ever had before.

The observers could only watch as a bolt of large lightning bad its way to a glowing ball of gold before Ron's voice echoed "Behold… EXCALIBUR." Then it was like everything just exploded in golden light as if the sun finally came out. The roar of the golden attack echoed long afterwards; Ron panted slightly before breathing out.

Ron walked off the building and slowed his descent upon coming to the ground. Facing the others he grinned "It's over… it's finally over." The others grinned as well, but before anyone could cheer.

"Is this the death you imagined for me" Hermione's voice said. Ron, and everyone else, widened their eyes and turned around to see Hermione standing up missing part of her dress, looking cut up, bruised, slightly bloody with her previous long less bushy hair being shortened. "You really have gotten stronger Ronald" she said as a white glow surrounded her body. "Without this I would've been dead."

The white glow around her body began forming; first into a ribcage and then into muscle, and finally skin, but it didn't stop there. It formed a complete torso and head. The head was in the shape of a tiger with black stripes on its face. A shield formed in the left arm of the beast and a long broadsword in the other.

"Not it starts for real" she said as the arm put its shield in front of her. "This is my trump card; the Tigris Bellator.

"Tigris Bellator" Ron almost growled as she realized where she got this from. "Blaise's spell."

"He came up with the concept I will admit" Hermione said. "But I perfected it; weapons and all."

"Oh you think so" Ron smirked dangerously "Draconis Bellator" he growled before a red glow surrounded his body. A similar body formed over Ron like it did for Hermione only his warrior was red and it had the head of a dragon with glaring yellow eyes. Two broadswords were held in its hands as it roared. "You aren't only one who has a mastery over combative magic."

"In that case… let's take this seriously" Hermione said as the white glow around her grew. Ron reciprocated and the red glow around him grew at an alarming rate until red and white magic exploded all around them. When the glow died away the onlookers could only stare in absolute awe and shock. Some of them felt their wand slip from their grasp.

Both the Tigris Bellator and the Draconis Bellator seemed to grow a while body now as they now had lower bodies. Both of them were covered in armor and Hermione's Tigris Bellator had three striped tails flowing behind it and Ron's Draconis Bellator had two large dragon wings coming off the back. The head of Hermione's had two spiked ears and the head of Ron's had two spiked horns.

Both Ron and Hermione stared across from each other protected in a hexagonal barrier on the head of each of their respective battle avatars. They knew from the beginning that the one's capable of defeating them were the ones they were staring at. This would be it; whoever gave in first would die.

Then Hermione's Tigris Bellator roared like a tiger and struck with its sword. Ron had his warrior block with one of the broadswords. The loud bang echoed all throughout the area and some speculated all throughout the country. The resulting shockwave blew everything to their left over.

The powers of their battle avatars could create a shockwave so massive just from a single swing. This was a truly terrifying battle to be a part of and truly aweing to watch. They clashed back and forth with each shockwave destroying another part of the area behind them. So much so that everyone had to retreat out of city. The muggles and others having escaped a while ago.

Hermione attacked Ron absolutely relentlessly and Ron began blocking attack after attack, but he was starting to tire. Hermione capitalized on this "YOU CANNOT WIN" she roared. The tails from her battle avatar stretched out above the head and began firing beams from the end that all connected together and began forming a massive ball. Ron quickly charged to stop her before she could fire it, but it was no use.

"ERADAMUS" Hermione roared. The large blast fired and completely enveloped Ron and his battle avatar. The wide spread destruction seemed to get even wider as the blast enveloped a major portion of the city. When the blast was gone only scorched earth remained. Hermione looked at the spot and laughed triumphantly.

Her triumph was short lived when she heard massive thumps coming towards her. Turning she could not block in time as a giant set of green claws raked through her Tigris Bellator. She was thrown completely to the ground and hovering above her was a massive green dragon made of pure magic, but unlike Ron's it had no armor or weapons.

The look on Daphne's face, as she was shrouded in her own battle avatar, was one of pure murder. She didn't need to say anything as she let her actions speak all the rage she felt for Hermione. Her battle lifted both arms and the claws began to glow an even darker green.

"Draco Ungue" she shouted and slashed. A pillar of green exploded from the site. The glow began to die and when it did… they were both there, but Hermione was blocking the attack.

With a smirk she kicked Daphne off of her and with her blade she cut right through Daphne's Draconis Bellator and grabbed her before hauling her up. Daphne struggled to get out of the grip, but Hermione's grip was much too strong.

"It's because of you" she glared into Daphne's green eyes. "It's because of you I lost him, you took him from me." Her grip increased making Daphne give a small cry of pain "Die now" she hissed and increased her grip to the tightest point making Daphne scream in agony.

"EXCALIBUR" a roar sounded out. A golden arc of magic cut right through Hermione's Tigris Bellator. The magic dissipated and Daphne fell in a free fall. A burst of fire shot past them and caught Daphne in midair before landing on the ground.

It was Ron and although he was slightly cut up and bludgeoned with his clothes torn he looked still very strong. "Ron" she whispered softly as some blood leaked from her lips.

"Save your strength" Ron said softly. He stood up and faced Hermione with a glare colder than any glacier, but hotter than any inferno "Back in a minute." With a roar he engaged his Draconis Bellator once more and the full powered battle avatar reappeared once more.

Hermione was angry and confused 'How did he survive that; no shield spell could have blocked that. No matter, he's still weak enough.' She charged at Ron again and Ron reciprocated and their battle continued again. But this time as the battle went on Hermione began to notice that Ron's attacked were not weakened or slow, but fast and powerful with not one single wasted attack.

Inside the massive battle Hermione was beginning to tire, but as she looked at Ron she noticed he wasn't even panting; Hermione speculated that Ron was using his Triple Stagnate for brief moments to relax his body so he wouldn't tire out.

That strategy ended up being his endgame as it worked. Ron's battle avatar slashed at the shield that Hermione's held back and completely broke through it leaving her open for a slash from the other sword. The Tigris Bellator was slashed badly and Ron's Draconis Bellator roared and launched a massive burst of fire from its mouth that it engulfed Hermione and her battle avatar entirely.

When the fire began to get smaller and smaller and Hermione's Battle Avatar nowhere to be seen Ron knew he had won so he slowly began to disengage his Draconis Bellator until he stood on the ground. Walking to the flames he waved them away and saw Hermione coughing harshly on the ground. She got burned pretty good and was coughing out large amounts of blood.

"It's over Hermione… you've lost" Ron said in a soft voice. He turned to walk away.

"No… NO, YOU WILL DIE" she roared charging at him with Clarent. In a flash Ron turned unsheathing Excalibur and his one swing blocked her attack he simply knocked it aside and stabbed her through the chest. All was silent until Ron gasped slightly as he felt a pain in his stomach. Looking down he saw Clarent stabbed into his stomach.

"No" he said before pulling the blade out. To his amazement the wound completely sealed shut.

"Avalon" Hermione breathed making him turn to her. Blood was coming from her mouth, but there was a smile on her face. "The utopia the king is said to go after he dies. Untouchable to all forms of magic, ancient or new, the ultimate defense in which nothing can penetrate." She smirked "This is it; that's the reason you survived everything. That's the real power of the Sacred Sword."

She reached out shakingly with a bloodied hand and placed it upon Ron's cheek, who did nothing to stop her. "You truly are a despicable man" she said softly with affection. "You defied everyone, even me, right up until the very end. But I forgive you for everything. I guess the things you can never have are truly the mightiest of them all." Excalibur began to glow and Hermione's body began to disintegrate. "Farewell, King of Dragons" she said as her hand fell from his cheek. She had a smile on her face "There's one thing I can say for sure and that I never regretted meeting you." With that her body fully disintegrated into light particles that vanished soon after.

As she disappeared Ron finally felt a sense of peace come over him; for a brief instant he saw the old Hermione again. The friend he once had "May you find peace" he murmured softly staring into the sky.

A long month and a half has passed since that day and many things had happened; Tracey and Theo finally got to have their marriage on October 14th. It was a lovely ceremony that Tracey's own brother performed; no one had ever seen Theo smile so much as he kissed Tracey. After the marriage came rebuilding the city of London as nearly all of it was destroyed in the ensuing battle between Ron and Hermione.

But in the end it was all done and now just one thing was left to be done. Outside of Dragon's Castle every single Witch, Wizard and creature of human intelligence was there to witness a historical event. On January 1st, 2000, the year of the new Millennium is when they would usher in a brand new era.

Queen Elizabeth herself stood atop the threshold of the gate with a golden crown in her hands before she gently lowered onto the kneeling red head in front of her. "Now come the days of the king" she announced to the crowd as she looked down on Ron, who smiled at her. "May they be blessed" she smiled adoringly at him.

Ron stood up feeling the crown on his head wearing his best black tunic pants with gold stripes down the side boots and matching long sleeved tunic with the same golden stripes. A royal blue apron-like tunic with golden tribal lines was fastened around his waist and his royal blue cloak with fluffy white ends all around it was tied around his neck. The Heart of the Dragon rested on his neck and Excalibur was on his waist sheathed inside of Avalon.

Breathing in slightly Ron turned and faced all of his subjects. They all cheered loudly for him making Ron smile. "This day does not belong to just one person, but to all. Let us together rebuild this world so that we may share in the days of peace."

Everyone clapped again as it begun to snow all around them. Ron walked down from the steps escorting Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip across the crowds who all bowed to him. On his right he caught the eye of Harry and Neville, who both bowed to him with smiles. Then on his left he caught the eye of Malfoy who also gave a polite, curt bow and got a nod in return. The Garrison consisting of Theo, Tracey and Blaise were behind him acting as bodyguards as Ron approached his family, all dressed in best robes.

He stopped in front of his father where they both held each other by the shoulders "Thank you for everything" Ron said sincerely. Arthur smiled at his son before stepping to the side. His brothers and sister all smiled the same smile and stepped aside confusing Ron.

That's when he saw Nicholas and Cynthia along with someone holding the flag of the King before it was moved aside revealing Daphne dressed in a beautiful lavender colored dress with a small silver crown atop her head with beads of emeralds connected to the crown lining her hair.

Ron had never seen a more beautiful site in his life as he turned towards her fully and began walking towards her. Nicholas whispered something to her ear before urging her forward. Daphne walked towards him. Soon they stopped right in front of each other. Daphne really noticed their difference in height as her petite 5'7 stood in front of his 6'4. She hesitantly bowed to him.

Ron passed the flag off to someone, probably Fred or George before gently gripping her chin tilting her head up so he could see her eye to eye. They stared for a few seconds before Ron kissed her in front of everyone. People began clapping and cheering loudly as Ron picked her up and twirled her around as they still kissed. Nicholas looked to be suppressing his own emotions before he smiled brightly clapping for his daughter and son-in-law.

That night the castle hosted the most extravagant victory party ever as everyone mingled with one another and celebrated the coming of a new era. Ron was standing outside on a balcony overlooking everyone. His cloak was off as was his crown and sword as he looked down at everyone with a smile.

"You like isolating yourself don't you" the voice of Harry said behind him. Ron turned to see Harry with a glass of firewhisky in his hand.

"I could say the same for you" Ron smiled as Harry joined him on the balcony.

Harry noticed Ron was twirling a wand between his fingers "You took the Elder Wand" he said.

"Didn't seem right to just leave it there" Ron said.

"How did you defeat her anyway; she had the Elder Wand, she was its master so how did you win" Harry asked.

"Well we were using different magic; wandless magic so to speak when we formed our battle Avatars so technically she wasn't using the wand" Ron explained.

"So since you defeated her" Harry said.

Ron nodded "It's mine" he said twirling the wand again.

"As if you needed more power" Harry joked "With that… you're truly invincible."

Ron looked at the wand "It's more trouble than it's worth honestly" he said. "Call me superstitious Harry, but considering this wand's history and all those who had it I fall back on the old philosophy. Wands of elder never prosper" he said before he burnt the wand to ashes and let the ashes float away into the wind. "Besides… I've had enough misfortune for the time being."

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flames will be ignored.


	25. Chapter 25

Dragon's Garrison (Chapter Twenty-Five)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

On September 25 of 1926, seven year old Garrick Ollivander, along with his father, created his first wand. It was a special birthday treat from his father that took the young Ollivander over three days to create, the longest the ancient Wand maker had spent on any wand. It was a unique and beautiful wand especially during that time; 14 and three quarter inches, aspen wood, dragon heartstring, unbeatable.

Garrick Ollivander felt so proud of his wand's creation that he had it on a plaque in the shop for anyone who wanted to buy it. So many wizards wanted to buy it until eventually a pro-dueler named Thomas Quinn, a descendant of the famous pro dueling group, the Silver Spears, bought the wand. Together he and the wand won many duels together.

Only when Thomas achieved a great age did he officially retire the wand and hung it inside his house. When he passed away his descendants couldn't find the wand and believed that someone stole it. In actuality Thomas had sold the wand back to Ollivander as he believed another great duelist would come to possess it in time.

The wand remained in Ollivander's shop for many decades until August 26th, 1985 when it was mistakenly shipped to the Ollivander shop in Hogsmeade where it remained in storage for ten years. After those ten years a young couple came into the shop where the girl convinced the boy to exchange his old wand for a new one.

Ron and Ollivander don't know this fact, but if they did I'm pretty sure they'd smile. I suppose you could say that's where this story had begun…

… And this is where it ends.

September 1st, 2017

Exiting a car at King's Cross station a family of seven walked into the train station. People seemed to automatically shoo out of the way because the patriarch seemed to walk with an imperial air about him that made others seem to not want to get in his way. The man was tall, about 6'6, with short slightly slick and spiky red hair and blue eyes, wearing a fine royal blue collar shirt and black jacket with blue jeans. The man walked with his wife, three sons and two daughters.

"I will not Jesse" one of the girl's hissed towards her little brother.

"Give it a rest Jesse" Daphne told her son.

"What, I'm just saying it's a possibility" Jesse said with a shrug, his blue eyes twinkling mischievously. "Right Jake?"

"Oh quite" he said in a fake pompous tone as the boys laughed.

"I told you I will not" the girl said firmly. "I will uphold our family's tradition proudly. I will be put in Gryffindor or Slytherin, no exception." A little blond haired girl trailed sadly clutching her father's leg.

"I want to go now" she whined softly.

"And you will, it's only three years" the man said comfortingly. "They'll pass by just like that."

"We only have one year" Jake and Jesse grinned at their little sister. A sharp glance from their mother made them go quiet. Commuters stared at the family oddly as they pushed two trolleys filled with trunks and owls, but once more the looks went back to the man and woman; the woman for her astounding beauty and the man for the expensive looking heart shaped red diamond he wore around his neck.

"We're here" the oldest said. He looked almost like an exact copy of his father when he was a teenager with the long red hair, pale skin and same blue eyes. They had approached the barrier to Platform 9 and three quarters. "Father" he said respectfully.

"After you son" the man smiled at him. The boy sped towards the barrier and vanished into the wall. Seeing his daughter look at the wall nervously he gently patted her long red hair "Together" he smiled. The girl nodded and together with her father they sped through the barrier.

They came out on the other side to a bustling train station where there were many other witches and wizards off to see their children off to school. Behind him the man's wife and three children came in behind them. Her brothers looked around in awe and with their youngest sister grabbing their hands they went off after their oldest brother.

Capitalizing on the moment that her brothers weren't around the girl asked "You'll write to me won't you" she asked.

"Every day if you want" Daphne said.

"Not every day" she said with a blush. "I'm already going to get enough attention as it is."

"We wrote to Ron three times a week on his first year; he didn't mind" Daphne pointed out.

"He doesn't mind about a lot of things; he's too calm" the girl said with a cute whine.

Ron laughed "Don't believe everything Ron says; he may be calm, but he does know how to mess with people. He gets that from your mother." Ron got a giggle from his daughter and a severe look from his wife, but he knew her long enough to know there was no real ire in her look.

Then his son's Jake and Jesse came running back "We found them, come on" they said excitedly. Smiling they walked along the platform seeing a few familiar faces as they did. They saw Neville and Hannah Longbottom saying goodbye to their son. Hannah was smoothing his short blond hair while Neville smiled at his son's embarrassment. Their daughter was next to her father giggling at her brother's look. They'd see him again soon enough as Neville was the Professor of Herbology and Hannah was the School's Med-Witch.

Through the crowd of people and steam Ron heard his brother Percy saying goodbye to his two daughters with his wife Audrey. "There they are" Ron pointed as a bundle of people emerged from the steam.

"You made it" Ron's older brother Fred beamed as he reached up and clapped his tall little brother on the shoulder. "Alicia made us come by Apparating; they didn't trust us to drive."

"With good reason" Alicia said with a serious look. "Have you seen him attempt to drive? He almost flattened the instructor."

"By accident" Fred said indignantly while his children just laughed at their father's expression.

"At least I did better" George said loftily.

"I wouldn't call knocking down all the traffic cones better dear" Angelina said with a roll of her eyes. George pouted while his children giggled at him. Ron had already moved on and greeted Harry as they helped his son's trunk on board.

"Found your way have you" Ron asked.

"Yep, the traffic sucked though" Harry said. "Seriously, idiots don't know how to drive nowadays."

"Neither do most wizards" he said remembering his older brothers. Behind them Ron's daughter and Harry's son were having an animated discussion with each other about what house they would be in when they got to Hogwarts. As they finished loading their children's things into the train Ron noticed some others "Look who it is" he said.

Harry followed his gaze and saw Draco Malfoy with his wife Pansy along with their young son. Draco's son resembled him as much as Harry's middle child and Ron's oldest child resembled them. Draco and his wife looked up and caught the eye of Harry and Ron and gave a very courteous nod to them with small, miniscule smiles.

"So that's little Scorpius" Ron murmured. "Don't get too comfy with him Jackie; Grandpa Weasley would never forgive you if you married a Malfoy."

"Ron" Daphne admonished looking a little amused as Jackie paled. "Don't turn them against each other before they've met."

"Mmm-Hmm" he hummed.

"Hey guys" someone else called. Looking up the saw three more children running this way.

"Kyle" Jack and Jesse cried happily running up and hugging their cousin. Their cousin Kyle caught them as they jumped into his arms. Jackie and her little sister, Susan, ran over and hugged their cousins Tammy and Sasha.

"Cutting it close Colin" Harry asked.

Colin Greengrass was slightly breathless as he caught up to his children. "Had to go back to the house three times; Kyle forgot something each time."

"I said I was sorry" Kyle said somewhat sheepishly.

"Say that to the traffic" Colin muttered making his daughter's giggle. "Astoria's coming along; she's double checking to make sure Kyle didn't forget anything in the car." Kyle blushed making his many cousins grin at him.

"Look who it is" a voice called. Out of the steam and crowd of people came Theodore and Tracey Nott. Walking next to them were their two children Ashley and Michael Nott. Their son Michael was heading off for his first year.

"Hey guys" Ron said sharing a handshake with Theo while Daphne shared a hug between Tracey and herself. "Both kids off to Hogwarts now?"

"Oh yeah" Theo said. "Michael's been bouncing off the wall with excitement. He can't wait."

"I recall that Tracey was the same" Daphne commented getting Tracey to pout.

"Like you can talk" Tracey griped. Their children were already co-mingling with one another and distinctly Ron noticed his oldest son talking with Ashely; Ashley was blushing slightly, but smiling brightly.

"Blaise here yet" Ron asked.

"He's running a bit late, but he said he'll get his son on the train" Theo responded.

"Hey guys" the loud voice of Harry's son, James Potter, sounded out as he ran towards them. "You're not gonna believe what I just saw. I saw Teddy snogging Victoire. Victoire… our cousin… being snogged by Teddy, seriously."

"You interrupted them" Ginny said dryly. "You are so much like your uncles."

Her daughter Lily didn't share her mother's sense of dryness "Oh wouldn't it be lovely if they got married. Teddy really would become a part of the family then. Both he and Katherine."

"Oh there's more" James said with a positively ecstatic grin. "I also saw Romulus… he was snogging Alice."

"Whoa, hold on, Romulus… Romulus Black was snogging Alice Longbottom" Ron Weasley II said in shock. "We just saw her with Professor Longbottom."

"Apparently not anymore" James grinned.

"Well it would be nice if they did marry" Ron said with a hum. "They pop up at least twice a week and if it's not at the castle it's at your house Harry."

Harry nodded "Yeah, why not just invite them to live with us and be done with it."

"Could we" James said excitedly. "I don't mind sharing a room with Al. Teddy could have my room."

"Oh no" Harry said quickly. "You and Al will share a room only when I want the house demolished."

"Father it's almost eleven" the oldest son of Ron said. "We should be getting on."

"Right; have a good year everyone" he said watching as everyone gave their goodbyes to their children. Fred and George hugged their sons and daughters and watched them go on the train. "Have a good year Jackie, don't forget Hagrid's invited you and Al for tea on Friday. Don't mess with Ghosts or suits of armor, don't get into messy confrontations and don't let your cousins rile you up."

Jackie nodded while hugging her father, but she still looked worried "Father… what if I'm not put in Gryffindor or Slytherin." Ron knew right then and there that his daughter inherited the fear he once had when he was being sorted. Crouching down so that his daughter's face was equal with his own; of all of his five children Jackie was the only one who inherited their mother's emerald eyes.

"Jackeline Molly Weasley" Ron said softly. "You were named after your mother's grandmother and my own mother, one may have been a Gryffindor, but the other was a Ravenclaw and to this day she remains the wisest Greengrass ever."

Jackie looked nervous "But just say that I am."

"Then Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw will have gained a wonderful young witch" Ron said firmly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Harry and Al having a similar conversation. "But listen, if it really means that much to you then you can choose Gryffindor or Slytherin. Uncle Harry says the Sorting Hat really takes your choice into account."

"Really" Jackie said with hope.

"Really" Ron nodded. The whistle blew "Ready?"

"Ready" Jackie nodded and they both stood up. They hugged each other once more before getting on the train with her many cousins and older brother. As she got on many students stared at her and her brother before looking out at Ron and Harry.

"Why are they all staring" Al wondered out loud.

"It's just our father's they're extremely famous" Ron's oldest son answered with a small smile. The train began to take off as the cousins all managed to squeeze into one large compartment. The train began to go and Ron saw his daughter and son's face filled with happiness and excitement as they got further and further away. He heard his two other sons waving and whistling while little Susan was tearfully in the arms of her mother watching everyone go. The same was for Lily, Tammy, and Sasha.

Even as the scarlet train drifted away Ron kept staring at the tracks "She'll be fine" Daphne murmured next to him taking his hand. "She is your daughter."

Ron's hand lowered to where it gently touched the shining Heart of the Dragon rested around his chest "I know she will." The wars were over and his children were happy. All was well.

Like it? Love it? Review it. Flames will be ignored.

Epilogue Character Bio's:

Ron Weasley II: Ron and Daphne's first and oldest child and Heir Apparent to the Throne when Ron eventually steppes down. Born on June 7th, 2003 Ron is heading into his Fourth Year at Hogwarts. As stated he is an exact carbon copy of his father from when he was in Hogwarts with the only thing he doesn't have is freckles. Since he is the oldest of five children and the Heir Apparent to the throne Ron has a more serious side to him. He is very respectful to his father and mother, but is very close to them and all of his siblings. As stated Ron is rather serious, but also has a small playful side to him. Ron Weasley II is sorted in Slytherin House.

Jackeline "Jackie" Weasley: Ron and Daphne's second child and oldest daughter. Born on September 21st, 2005 Jackie is going to start her first year at Hogwarts. Jackie is very proud of both her Weasley and Greengrass heritage and as such wants to hold up tradition for each side by not being prejudiced towards others despite their blood status and by being sorted into Gryffindor or Slytherin. She has a slight fear of being sorted into Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, a fear that her two younger brothers capitalize on a lot. She is especially close to her father as she was able to confide her fear to him and be reassured by his words. She is the only one of Ron's children to inherit Daphne's green eyes.

Jesse Weasley: Ron and Daphne third child as he was born a few minutes before his twin brother Jake. Born on August 14th, 2007 he is set to go off to Hogwarts next year and show everyone what he can do as the son of the King. He looks like a young blond version of his father as he has his mother's hair, but his father's eyes with a minor amount of freckles on his cheeks. He and his brother are like the next generation "Fred and George" as they are both twins and love pulling jokes at other people's expense. If they go too far a single glance from their mother is enough to stop them. He shares close relationships with his parents, siblings, and cousins.

Jacob "Jake" Weasley: Ron and Daphne's fourth child as he was born a few minutes after his twin brother Jesse, a fact that his twin likes to exploit on him at times. Jake likes to pretend to act pompous at times as he is a prince, but he doesn't really mean anything by it. He looks exactly like his twin brother, but his parents can always tell them apart. Like his twin brother he loves to pull jokes on others and shares a close relationship with all of his family members, but is particularly a mama's boy.

Susan Weasley: Ron and Daphne's fifth and youngest child. Born on January 19th 2009 she is quite anxious to set off to Hogwarts like her oldest brother and older sister. When it was time for another one of her siblings to go off to Hogwarts Susan tearfully clenched her father's leg as she wanted to go badly. She apparently shares a very close relationship with her father and is also very close to her big sister. She looks like a carbon copy of Daphne only with her father's eyes.

Ashley Nott: Theo and Tracey's first child and daughter. Born on April 29th 2003. She is a mix of her mother and father. She has a bit of Theo's stoicism to those who are rude to her and she also didn't follow a crowd. But like her mother she is a very open person. She has her father's black hair and her mother's amber eyes. She is starting her 4th year at Hogwarts and has a massive crush on Ron's oldest child.

Michael Nott: Theo and Tracey's second child and son. Born on January 14th 2006 Michael is mostly his mother's child as she is exactly like Tracey, but looks like a miniature Theo as he has his slick black hair and dark violet eyes. He is a very excitable child and is very much looking forward to his first year at Hogwarts. He is best friends with Albus Potter and Jackeline Weasley.

Blade Zabini: He is the adopted child of Blaise Zabini and was born on September 9th 2003. Blaise found him as an orphan wandering around the streets in 2006 and he saw how much Blade was like him. He was a dark skinned boy with dark eyes and short black hair. Due to his early upbringing in the streets Blade is a rather stoic boy, but will show his kindness to those who have earned his trust. He is good friends with Ron Weasley II and Ashley Nott. His best friend and secret crush is Katherine Lupin.

Frank Longbottom II: Neville and Hannah's oldest child. Born on February 28th, 2001 Frank is an almost exact carbon copy of his father as he has a slightly round face, but his face is slimmer than Neville's is and he inherited his mother's blond hair. Both of his parents work at Hogwarts so he sees them off at the train station and sees them at Hogwarts a few hours later. He is sorted into Hufflepuff in his Fifth Year and is one of the two Hufflepuff Prefects.

Alice Longbottom II: Neville and Hannah's second child. Born on March 31st 2003 Alice looks more like her mother Hannah as she has her pink face and eyes, but has Neville's dark hair. Unlike her slightly shy big brother Alice is more outgoing and adventurous, which is why she was sorted into Gryffindor. She shares a close relationship with her parents and older brother and is also in a relationship with Romulus Black. She is also one of Ron Weasley II's best friends. Like Ron she is in her fourth year.

Kyle Greengrass: He is the firstborn son of Colin and Astoria Greengrass and the Heir of his grandfather's clothing empire when his mother officially hands it over to him when he graduates. Born on November 30th 2005 Kyle inherited his maternal last name as his father married into the Greengrass Family. Kyle is like his father Colin as he inherited his mousy brown hair, but also inherited his mother's bluish-grey eyes. Kyle can be rather forgetful at times as his father had to turn around three times to pick up supplies left back at the house. Kyle shares a close relationship with Jake and Jesse Weasley and his two little sisters. He is off on his first year to Hogwarts.

Tamera "Tammy" Greengrass: She is the second oldest child of Colin and Astoria. Born on December 11th, 2007 she looks just like her mother as she inherited everything from her. Her face, her eye color and her hair color; she could past for a miniature Astoria, but despite that Tammy shares her father's love of picture taking. She and her father take walks and take pictures of the surrounding wildlife when they had free time. Tammy shares a close relationship with her little sister and Harry and Ron's youngest children Lily and Susan.

Sasha Greengrass: She is Colin and Astoria's youngest child. She was born on April 15th 2008 and is the only one of their children to inherit Colin's brown eyes. She is a mix between her parents as she is very chatty around people she knows, but shy around people she hasn't met before. Like her older sister she shares a close relationship with her cousins Lily, and Susan.

Romulus Black: He is the only child of Sirius and Emmeline Black. He was born on October 1st, 2002. The concept of his birth is quite a story as his parent's hooked up after the Battle of Hogwarts after a drunken night together. After that both parents grew closer together and got married a few years afterwards and eventually had him. Romulus is the heir of the Black Family and inherited all of his father's good looks. He has very thick slightly curly black hair and bright grey eyes. Around Hogwarts he is known as a Heartbreaker, but unlike his father he is not a playboy. He is fourteen years old in Gryffindor house in his fourth year. He is currently in a relationship with Alice Longbottom II. Both are very smitten with each other unknown to their families. He is also one of Ron Weasley II's best friends.

Katherine Lupin: She is the youngest child and only daughter of Remus and Nymphadora Lupin. She was born on May 22nd 2004 more than six years after her brother Teddy. Unlike her brother she did not inherit her mother's Metamorphmagus abilities so she has her mother's light brown hair and her father's green eyes. Like her brother, her father worried if she inherited any wolfish tendencies; the only things she inherited was a slit pupil of a werewolf and a liking for rare meat, but that's it. She is in her 3rd year at Hogwarts and is sorted into Ravenclaw. She is also one of Ron Weasley II's best friends and surprisingly she has a crush on Blaise's adopted son Blade.

Gideon Weasley: He is George and Angelina's oldest child and only son named after his father's Uncle Gideon who died in the First Wizarding War. He was born on July 6th 2005 and has his mother's skin tone, eyes and hair and is the best friend of James Potter II. Like his father he is a very avid prankster and shares his love of pranking with his cousin Fabian and Cousin James since James inherited his grandfather's pranking personality. He is very close with his little sister Roxane and father George. He plans on working in his father's joke shop when he graduates or going to play professional Quidditch, he hasn't decided yet. He is currently a third year in Hogwarts and sorted into Gryffindor.

Fabian Weasley: He is Fred and Alicia's oldest child and only son named after his father's Uncle Fabian who died in the First Wizarding War. Ironically he was born on July 6th 2005 just like his cousin Gideon so they share a birthday together just like their father's do. Like his cousin Gideon, Fabian has his mother's looks and his father's personality and is very close with his father, sister and cousin James being one his best friends. He is currently a third year in Hogwarts sorted into Gryffindor house.

Melinda Weasley: She is Fred and Alicia's youngest child and only daughter. She was born on March 7th 2008. She has slightly dark skin, but is paler than both her mother and brother and inherited her father's freckles. Melinda isn't much into pranking, but is an avid flyer. She loves flying and plans on trying out for the Quidditch team when going to Hogwarts. She has a close relationship with her mother and her cousin Roxanne.

And there you go; that's the story of the Dragon's Garrison and their descendants. Does anyone want a Sequel… let me know. Until then… see ya!


End file.
